Govt. College, Nankhari

Tele-MANAS

The Government of India (GoI) in its Union Budget 2022, announced the National Tele Mental Health Programme of India, Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele MANAS) and entrusted the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to guide its overall implementation. Consequently, the MoHFW formed a National Technical Advisory Group (NTAG) and three technical advisory sub-committees (Mental Health Service Delivery, Information Technology Architecture and Health Systems) to achieve specific goals and objectives of Tele MANAS.

Tele MANAS will be organized as a two-tier system. Tier 1 will comprise the State Tele MANAS cells, which includes trained counsellors and mental health specialists. Tier 2 will comprise specialists at District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)/Medical College resources for physical consultation and/or eSanjeevani for audio visual consultation.

Tele MANAS Calling Mechanism

The public can access the Tele MANAS helpline by dialing toll-free number or short code. This call will be an IVRS based audio calling only, with a timely auto-call back approach. Through the automated callback service, the caller will first be attended to by a trained counsellor.

• Based on the level of care required, the counsellor will either provide the care needed within their capabilities or refer the caller for specialist care.
• If the caller requires specialized care, the call will be handled by a mental health specialist (clinical psychologist, psychiatric social worker, psychiatric nurse, or a psychiatrist). This level of service will contain both audio as well as video-based options.
• In case the caller requires urgent in-person intervention/complex evaluations and management, they will be referred to the nearest in-person service for physical consultation and/or an audio-visual consultation with a specialist will be arranged through e Sanjeevani. These centers will range from Health and Wellness Centre (HWCs) to tertiary care centers as part of the DMHP.

Aims & objectives

To provide universal access to equitable, accessible, affordable and quality mental health care through 24X7 tele-mental health services as a digital component of the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) across all Indian States and UTs with assured linkages.

• To exponentially scale up the reach of mental health services to anybody who reaches out, across India, any time, by setting up a 24x7 tele-mental health facility in each of the States and UTs of the country
• To implement a full-fledged mental health-service network that, in addition to counselling, provides integrated medical and psychosocial interventions including video consultations with mental health specialists, e-prescriptions, follow-up services and linkages to in-person services.
• To extend services to vulnerable groups of the population and difficult to reach populations

Guidelines for Students/Institutes