The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed concern over the inadequacy of mental health hospitals in the country.

After attending the recent North Eastern Regional review meeting on mental health in Guwahati, commission member P C Sharma said the current number of such hospitals was most inadequate and infrastructure available to them is far from satisfactory.

"In a country of over one billion people there are only about 43 mental hospitals which is awfully inadequate especially in view of the fact that the number of persons suffering from mental disorder was steadily growing," Sharma told PTI.

Referring particularly to the North-East, Sharma said the inaccessibility of certain geographic areas in the region is a roadblock in extending both hospital-based and community-based approach to solve the problem.

"A community-based approach should be adopted to tackle the problem," the commission member said adding that the first step should be to evaluate the number of patients in need of mental health care.