It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this website.
The National Institute of Mental Health formally known as the Mental Hospital, Angoda, was built during Victorian times in 1925 and was opened for patients from 31st of January 1929.
Though initially it had functioned smoothly, due to overcrowding and unavailability of medications prior to the ECT (electro convulsive therapy) and chlorpromazine era, it gradually ended up a typical lunatic asylum in a developing country.
When I took over the administration in 2002, this was the unfortunate situation my team and I were faced with. However with the hard work and earnest support from our “Mental Health friendly” staff in the hospital, officials at the Ministry of Health, WHO, VSO (voluntary service overseas), volunteers and well wishes, we could transform the asylum to a renovated and fully functional establishment - the National Institute of Mental Health – a national resource.
Amongst the many services offered in addition to general adult psychiatry it has different specialized units. They are psycho geriatric unit, general medical ward, perinatal psychiatry unit, learning disability unit, adolescent and young adult psychiatry unit and forensic psychiatry unit. It also has a psycho-social training centre to train all staff categories in the area of mental health. In addition a research center is also attached to the hospital.
I am sure that the National Institute of Mental Health will grow strong to stronger day by day to provide quality mental health care to fulfill the needs of the Mental Ill and to provide quality Mental Health training and Mental Health research in our part of Asia.
I hope that you will find this web site informative and meaningful.
