How NIMHANS–Namma 112 will route mental health distress calls

NIMHANS and Namma 112 integrate to efficiently route mental health distress calls, ensuring timely and appropriate responses in Bengaluru.

From the moment a distress call is received to the point help is offered, the recent integration between Tele-Manas (14416) at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) and Bengaluru’s Namma 112 emergency response system has been designed around three core factors including location-based routing, structured risk screening at the first point of contact, and bi-directional escalation between counselling and police response. 

The differentiation mechanism is important here because Tele MANAS receives calls from across the country, and without a filtering structure, indiscriminate diversion between systems could result in delays.  

Recently, the bi-directional integration between Tele-Manas and the Bengaluru City Police Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) Namma 112, was inaugurated in the city as a pilot initiative to provide timely assistance to individuals experiencing mental distress. 

Under this, calls received at Tele-Manas that require immediate police intervention, including cases involving suicide risk or domestic violence, will be transferred to Namma 112 for on-ground response. Conversely, calls received at 112 that are identified as requiring mental health support rather than emergency police action will be routed to Tele-Manas, where trained counsellors and mental health professionals will provide tele-counselling and further intervention where necessary. 

Officials said the objective of launching the integrated platform was to create a coordinated response mechanism for psychiatric emergencies, including cases involving suicidal tendencies, severe emotional distress, and domestic violence where both counselling support and immediate police intervention may be required. “The pilot will be monitored in Bengaluru, and based on its effectiveness and response outcomes, the model is expected to be scaled up across Karnataka,” City Police Commissioner, Seemanth Kumar Singh, told The Hindu. 

If there is immediate risk, the case is treated as an emergency and handled entirely within the 112 framework. Police response units — Hoysala mobile patrol vehicles — are mobilised directly from the control room to ensure there is no loss of time, officials said. However, if the caller is not at immediate risk of harm but is experiencing mental distress — including persistent stress, anxiety, low mood, emotional disturbance, or other psychological concerns — the call is then transferred to the Tele Manas cell located at NIMHANS in Bengaluru.