Indian Navy has new suicide prevention policy in place: Defence Ministry

New Delhi: Ministry of Defence on Tuesday informed the Parliament that the Indian Navy has put in place a policy to address the issue of suicides among service personnel, the Ministry of Defence informed Parliament on Tuesday, July 19. It said, a comprehensive policy to prevent suicides among serving naval personnel was promulgated on April 12.

The strategy is called Indian Navy Strategy for Mental Health Assistance Resilience and Training or IN-SMART. A toll-free suicide helpline is available exclusively for Indian Navy personnel at INHS Asvini, the flagship hospital of the Indian Navy.

"Psychological Counselling is also provided at the Department of Psychiatry at large naval stations. Apart from the posted psychiatrist, clinical psychologists and counsellors are hired for the purpose," the defence ministry said.

The Ministry of Defence gave out the numbers of suspected suicides in the armed forces over the last five years. The ministry stated that the Government doesn't centrally maintain the data on suicides by ex-servicemen.

The Defence Ministry said, "For management of stress and suicides in services, the armed forces are continuously evolving measures to improve the stress mitigating mechanisms. An elaborate mental health wellness programme has been formulated and is in vogue since 2009."

It said various mechanisms to observe and identify armed forces personnel with psychological problems, including depression and suicidal tendencies are in place.
Detailed guidelines for psychiatric examination, diagnosis, treatment and disposal of service personnel and their families suffering from psychiatric disorders have been promulgated by Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS).

Personnel at high risk of stress are identified and counselled by unit commanding officers, regimental medical officers and junior leaders as per procedures. All personnel returning to units after leave are interviewed, counselled and medically examined by the regimental medical officers. Stress markers/warning signs of stress are looked for and motivational talks are rendered to all, the ministry said.

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