Volume 7 Issue 7 July, 2017
Psychiatry at primary care
My first posting as a medical officer was at a primary health unit at a very remote area. I was the first full time MBBS doctor posted there. Not many patients were coming to PHU as they had no confidence about government hospitals. Many quacks were practicing in and around that village. One fine day a young lady was found in an old vacant house in front of the Primary Health Unit. She was not well kempt, continuously talking to herself. People were afraid of her. They thought that she was possessed by a devil.
With my training of 15 days in NIMHANS, I could diagnose this as Schizophrenia. With the help of ANMs of Primary Health Unit, I went to that old house and gave injection Flupenazine decanoate 25 mg which was supplied by the government. Within a week she started showing improvement. Her violent behavior reduced, she asked for water and food, washed her face. Within two weeks she was into her senses, straightened up her clothes and told that she was from a village 30 kilometers away from my place. The Village leaders were sensible enough to drop her to her native and got the laurels.
From that day people in the village including our staff started showing more respect (and fear) towards me. They thought I have extra powers and capable of doing black magic. Meanwhile patients also started trickling in to the Primary Health Unit.
Dr. Chandrashekar. H, Professor & Head, Dept. of Psychiatry, Bangalore Medical College & Research Institute, Bengaluru
