The National Mental Health Report (NMHR) 2019, which surveyed all 43 public psychiatric hospitals in India, found that 33.1% of patients were brought into long-term institutionalisation by their families. Another 55.4% were referred by the police or magistrates, indicating that they too were likely homeless. About 32% of mental hospital beds were occupied by long-stay users, with 36.25% of inpatients having lived there for at least a year, according to NHMR 2019. Women outnumbered men at 54.3%. Nearly half (48.8%) had lived inside institutions between one to five years and 11.4% for over 25 years. The average age of long-stay users was 45 years. "Poverty and lack of effective continued care conflating demands placed on carers, especially in cases where clinical needs are high led to institutionalisation" of patients, the report found.
Riddhi Dastidar, 'Insufficient, inconsistent: Mental health pension rarely reach the affected', Business Standard
