A post-Covid psychiatry clinic has been opened at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) here to treat people suffering from recovery trauma.

Nirmal Bera, the head of department of psychiatry at the NBMCH, said hospital authorities had planned to open a specialised OPD for post-Covid psychiatric care to address psychological effects of Covid-19 prevalent among a section of patients.

“This is for the first time that a post-Covid psychiatric clinic has been opened in the state. The clinic has 30 beds, but there are plans to include 10 more. Apart from the OPD of the department of psychiatry where psychiatric care was given to both Covid positive and negative patients, we now have a dedicated clinic for patients suffering from mental trauma after recovering from Covid. Those who are Covid negative will continue to visit the OPD for psychiatric treatment,” Bera added.

The clinic was inaugurated on Monday by Sushanta Roy, the officer on special duty appointed by the state health department in north Bengal, and Rudranath Bhattacharya, NBMCH’s patient welfare committee chairman.

Doctors at the NBMCH said a number of new machineries would be used at the clinic, including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, a non-invasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression.

“The psychiatry clinic will not only treat patients but will stand by their families to help them come out of the anxiety and distress,” said a doctor at the hospital.

Uttam Majumder, an assistant professor at the department of psychiatry, said many patients have visited the OPD with different mental problems in the past one year.

“We have seen several patients suffering from mental issues after recovering from Covid-19. This clinic will provide them proper treatment to get rid of the psychological impact of the disease,” Uttam added.

In another development, a 16-bed Covid safe home was opened at the North Bengal Dental College and Hospital (NBDCH) — located on the premises of the NBMCH on Monday.

Also, around 160 people, associated with healthcare and ancillary services were handed over certificates of appreciation for their efforts during the pandemic.