Are we ready to handle the cases of brain disability? Any answers

Headed for a neuro nightmare
India has very limited numbers of neurological and mental health facilities (1 bed per 40,000) and a dearth of mental health professionals (fewer than 3 psychiatrists /neurologists per million). So provision of neurologic and mental health care is very limited. Care-givers and attendants are also not trained to deal with such patients.

Currently, it is estimated that about 37 lakh people suffer from dementia in India, and about 3-5 lakh are being added every year. Women, because of their higher life expectancy, feature in this statistic more than men. There are about 7.6 crore Indians over the age of 60 at present, that is, 7 per cent of the country's population. This number is going to shoot up to 30 crore (17 per cent of the population ) by 2051 as modern medicine increases life expectancy. .......the number of patients will triple with 16 lakh dementia patients added every year.

The annual incidence of stroke in India is about 145 per 100,000 people with about 15 lakh new cases reported in 2010. The rate has increased 10-fold since 1969-70 . Das estimates that in 30-40 per cent cases, long -term disability occurs. So, about 4.5 to 6 lakh people will be added to those with neurological disabilities every year due to stroke.

Brain injuries caused by road traffic accidents are increasing at break neck speed. In 2011, the National Crime Records Bureau reported 136,834 deaths due to road traffic accidents, up by a staggering 70 per cent since just a decade ago. 15-17 lakh people with long-term brain disability from traffic accidents are added every year in India.

Putting all this together, we get a chilling statistic of 35 lakh people with brain disability added to the population every year — about 11,000 per day.