The director and head of the Child Development Services (CDS) at the Institute of Mental health and Neuroscience (IMHANS), Dr. P Krishnakumar had a cardiac arrest in the early hours at his residence in Thondayad. The 63-year-old pediatric psychiatrist passed away on Saturday morning.
Dr. Krishnakumar played a fundamental role in bringing mental health care to people residing in the districts of North Kerala. His commendable leadership helped IMHANS to achieve major milestones and transform into a centre of excellence providing extensive Child Development Services (CDS) to children with developmental and psychological disorders. Many of his mental health care initiatives and programmes were later adopted by the State Government.
His community mental health initiative for north Kerala districts was launched by the Directorate of Health Services as a district mental health programme. The government project ‘Anuyathra’ was initially launched by IMHANS as the community development disability project and was later taken over by the government. Other renowned projects were the mobile intervention project for children with autism and a tribal mental healthcare project.
A staff member from IMHANS commented that they were all shocked by the devastating news of his death. They elaborated about Dr Krishnakumar’s endeavours to transform the institute from a small space to a multi-floor building with 52 staff. “He was a kind-hearted human being who donated his entire salary to the institute during his extended service period,” said the staff member.
Origins
Dr.Krishnakumar was born in the Kannur district in a village called Kodolippuram. Both his parents were teachers who were also involved in social activism. The social activities by his mother, the books he read while visiting the village’s library and the discussions that took place there had majorly shaped his perspective.
He was notably motivated by a Belgian priest known as Father Damian who worked as a missionary at the Molokai leprosy settlement in Hawaii. Another major influence was a local doctor who treated people in Kodolippuram and often walked about 5 kms from his house to reach the village. Dr.Krishnakumar did his schooling at KPC High School, Pattanoor in Kannur. His undergraduate training and postgraduate training in Pediatrics were done at the Government Medical College, Kozhikode. Later, he gained a MD in Psychiatry at the Institute of Mental Health, Chennai.
As a medical student in Kozhikode, he was involved in active campaigns against unscientific medical practices. His career began in the year 1998 when he joined as a lecturer (Pediatrics department) at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode. He also worked as a professor in the department of Medical Education Service of Government of Kerala.
In 2006, he was appointed as the first director of IMHANS and played a pivotal role in the development of IMHANS from a two-roomed facility at Government Mental Health Centre at Kuthiravattom to a Centre of Excellence with its own campus located adjacent to the medical college hospital.
Dr. Krishnakumar officially retired from service in the year 2023. Six months after his retirement, the government called him back for his proficiency in the medical field. His experience in the field of child psychiatry as a pediatric psychiatrist, professor and researcher expands over 20 years. The doctor’s wife Geeta Govindaraj is a professor at the School of Family Health Studies, Kozhikode, and his son, Akshay is working as an engineer in the United States of America. Dr.Krishnakumar’s funeral service were conducted at the Mavoor Road crematorium in Kozhikode, Kerala on January 27.
