The number of admitted patients requiring psychiatric care has risen by 34% over a decade at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research. From 1,344 patients in 2015, the number of admitted patients needing psychiatric care increased to 1,799 in 2025.
“The majority of them are cancer patients having stress, anxiety or depression”, said Dr Swapnajeet Sahoo, associate professor, psychiatry department.
The institute is trying to identify such patients and provide psychiatric care to them. Long term illness can impact a patient and his/her caregiver’s mental health. In most western countries, emotional and psychological care is a recognised part of cancer and long term illness care. However, India still lags behind in providing the same care to patients. The higher stage of cancer was associated with higher prevalence of depression and anxiety. On receiving the call, a medical team evaluates the patient and on finding any mental health issue, medication and counselling is provided.
Dr Sahoo said to fill the gap, the psychiatry department is running a dedicated 24/7 phone number where staff inform about admitted patients in the hospital who seem to have mental health issues. The number has significantly increased over the years, from 765 patients evaluated in 2009 to 1,760 in 2019 and 1,799 in 2025.
Counselling, support groups for patients are important with this year’s mental health day theme that is, “Lived experiences heard: Real voices, real change” resonating the same. A 2016 study of PGIMER titled “prevalence of depression and anxiety disorder in cancer patients” found 46.4%, around 248 patients out of 534 had either depression or anxiety disorder.
Dr Sahoo explained how counselling helps patients address their concerns and work on them. Hearing their experiences, discussing what next does help in their recovery, he added. The department is also running obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia caregivers support groups where caregivers of patients meet and share their experiences.
“On hearing each other’s experiences, there is a sense of relief among patients and their caregivers, they get hope and acceptance about the medical condition”, added Dr Sahoo.
