The Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) in Kozhikode, a premier mental healthcare centre under the Health department in Kerala, is yet to get a full-time director after the demise of the incumbent P. Krishnakumar in 2025.
Sources said on Thursday that the staff association at the IMHANS has suggested that T.M. The IMHANS is an autonomous institution that has been functioning in areas of mental healthcare delivery, training, research, and policy development. Applications were invited from qualified persons under the Directorate of Medical Education and the Directorate of Health Services for the post. Even after a change of guard occurred in the State government, the recruitment is in limbo, it is learnt. Shibu Kumar, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, be appointed to the post. They pointed out that this could benefit the institution as Dr. Shibu Kumar was familiar with its functioning. Patients from nearly all districts in north Kerala rely on the institute for their mental healthcare needs. The IMHANS provides outpatient services and runs an autism clinic, besides implementing community mental health programmes, child development services, and rehabilitation projects.
Though the previous Left Democratic Front government had initiated a process to fill the vacancy, it could not be completed due to various reasons, according to sources.
The sources said a full-time director was essential to formulate new schemes in the mental healthcare sector and spearhead research initiatives.
