Mental hospitals in Pakistan: A historic perspective

Although mental illnesses & their treatment have been described from ancient times in the Indian subcontinent, establishment of proper & formal institutions for the treatment of mentally ill has generally been attributed to the British rule. During their period, psychiatric services were started in the mental hospitals established by the East India Company. Post colonial period continued with expansion of such services both in India & Pakistan. At the time of independence in 1947, there were three mental hospitals in Pakistan situated in Lahore, Hyderabad and Peshawar & and a psychiatric unit at the Military Hospital in Rawalpindi. A fourth mental hospital was added to the list in the 1960s. A parallel movement was taking place with general hospital psychiatry and with an increased number of trained psychiatrists; at present almost all teaching hospitals in the country have psychiatric units This paper describes history of establishment of mental hospitals in Pakistan and their role in shaping mental health services in the country.