The psychiatry department of Sion hospital is toying with the idea of starting a marriage bureau for mentally ill patients undergoing treatment at the hospital.

The hospital is looking to tie up with private agencies which can find suitable matches for patients recommended by the department and also look into the logistics of running the bureau. Head of the department, Dr Nilesh Shah, said, “We have many patients enquiring for a suitable bride or groom. The idea is to provide a forum for people choosing to marry a mentally ill patient or vice–versa,” he said.

Sion hospital handles more than 7,500 fresh mental health cases annually and thrice the number of follow–up cases.

Said psychiatrist Dr Vikas Deshmukh, “Getting married is very much a fundamental right. Why should anyone be denied that right? After all, most of the mental illnesses can be well–managed with slight doses of medication.”