Only 898 psychologists against requirement of 20250: Govt

New Delhi: There are only 898 psychologists against 20,250 required in the country and less than 900 psychiatric social workers against the 37,000 needed, the Lok Sabha has been informed.

As of January 2015, there were 3,827 psychiatrists against the 13,500 required in the country, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel informed the House yesterday.

Also, presently there are only 1,500 psychiatric nurses against 3,000, she said in response to a question on shortage of mental health professionals in India.

According to the 2011 Census, more than 7.22 lakh people across the country were suffering from "mental illness", while over 15 lakh were "mentally retarded".

With 76,603 people suffering from some sort of mental illness, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number in the country followed by West Bengal at 71,515, Kerala at 66,915 and Maharashtra at 58,753.