Kozhikode’s IMHANS, a leading mental healthcare institute, remains without full-time director

The Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) in Kozhikode, a premier mental healthcare centre under the Health department in Kerala, has been without a full-time director since the passing of its incumbent director P. Krishnakumar in 2025. The IMHANS, an autonomous institution, has been operating in various sectors of mental healthcare, including delivery, training, research, and policy development.

Despite the previous Left Democratic Front government initiating a process to fill the vacancy, it was not completed due to multiple reasons. Applications were initially invited from qualified individuals through the Directorate of Medical Education and the Directorate of Health Services. However, even after a change of government, the recruitment process remains stalled, as higher officials within the department declined to comment.

Dr. Krishnakumar had been serving as the director for many years until his demise in January 2025. K.G. Sajeeth Kumar, Principal of Government Medical College, Kozhikode, served as the acting director for approximately five months until V.P. Jithu, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, took over that responsibility. The staff association at the IMHANS has proposed that T.M.

Shibu Kumar, an Associate Professor from the Department of Psychiatry at Government Medical College Hospital, be appointed to the position. They believe that Dr. Shibu Kumar's familiarity with the institute's functioning could be advantageous. The IMHANS is essential in providing mental healthcare to patients from numerous districts in north Kerala, offering outpatient services, an autism clinic, community mental health programs, child development services, and rehabilitation projects.

Additionally, the institute offers MPhil programmes in Psychiatric Social Work and Clinical Psychology, as well as a post-basic diploma in psychiatric nursing, all of which were launched as the first such programs in the government sector of Kerala. Dr. Krishnakumar was instrumental in establishing these courses and facilities during his tenure.

The institute was acknowledged by the Union government and designated as a centre of excellence in mental health for its 11th plan, recognizing its significant contributions to the field.