Punjab’s rehab centres need booster shot to check drug menace

Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh instructed health authorities to ensure smooth functioning of the state-run de-addiction centres and provide free treatment to the needy. Hindustan Times visited the centres to find them battling staff shortage and poor infrastructure amid a rush of patients

First rehab centre in Amritsar fails lab test

Addicts undergoing treatment at the Swami Vivekanand Government Drug De-addiction and Rehabilitation Centre in Amritsar. (HT Photo)

Inaugurated by Union minister Arun Jaitley in July 2015, Punjab’s first full-fledged government-run drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centre here, built at a cost of Rs 5 crore, claims to provide everything required for treating addicts but patients are dissatisfied.

The number of patients is now 84, up from 35 three weeks ago. Their main grouse is that the only test conducted in its laboratory is to check addiction.

“My grandson is here since July 6. He is getting medicines but the doctor asked him to undergo tests for HIV and hepatitis outside,” says Gurnam Kaur of Ghumanpura village. Another patient says, “When we paid the fee of Rs 1,540 for treatment, samples were collected in the ward. Doctors now ask us to call our parents for tests to be conducted outside.”

Centre psychiatrist Amarbir Singh says, “We have arrangements for urine test for addiction. The addicts undergo other tests at the local government medical college.”

The centre is linked with the de-addiction centre at the medical college. Of the five wards, two are air-conditioned.

The centre has a permanent medical officer, eight psychiatrists on rotation, seven nursing staff and four ward attendants besides administrative staff and trainers. The college provides staff to the centre but they work for 16 hours at times, says nursing officer Vishal Johan. “We have enough doctors. We have sought eight more staffers, including two lab technicians,” says Dr PD Garg, who heads both centres.

The centre is getting support from Sun Foundation, an NGO led by Vikramjit Singh Sahney, for two years. The NGO offers three-month certificate courses in computers, welding, plumbing and electrical jobs. “More than 300 patients are enrolled in these courses,” says Baljit Kaur Johal, the coordinator of the foundation.

On the administration’s request, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee supplies free food from the langar (community kitchen) of Golden Temple to this centre. Food also comes from another Sikh religious organisation headed by Baba Kashmir Singh Bhuri Wale.

(by Surjit Singh)

Tarn Taran centre fights staff crunch

It’s always a long wait at the Government Drug De-Addiction and Rehabilitation Centre in Tarn Taran Civil Hospital.

Centre manager Rajive Kumar says there are only 20 beds, which are occupied all the time. “Besides staff, we need more beds. Three patients are on the wait list daily,” he says. The centre has a psychiatrist, a counsellor and three nurses for the 20 patients. The centre charges ₹3,000 per patient for 15 days and Kumar says it had yet to receive any official intimation of free treatment to the needy.

The Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) centre has a medical officer, a counsellor and a nurse. Medical officer Dr Parminder Singh Sidhu says the two main OOAT centres in the district are at Tharu village and at
Patti’s Bhagupur village. Patients are registered at these two centres though there are eight more OOAT clinics in the district.

“Nearly 100 patients visit the centre daily. It takes 15 minutes to register one patient. We manage to register 24 to 30 patients daily. It’s a must for newly registered patients to take medicines from the two main OOAT centres for three days. So, we’re handling 200 to 300 patients daily,” he says.

Dr Sidhu says the OOAT centres need another medical officer, a counsellor, a data entry operator and two staff nurses.

(by Anil Sharma)

Staff stretched to the limit at Patti centre

Patients awaiting their turn for medicines at the Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) centre at Bhagupur at Patti in Tarn Taran district. (HT Photo)

The de-addiction centre at the Patti Civil Hospital has 10 beds, which are always occupied. Psychiatrist Khushwinder Singh says the centre charges Rs 200 a day from patients as it’s yet to get an official intimation about providing free treatment to needy drug addicts.

He says due to the shortage of staff, he has also been conducting dope tests. “The government should recruit adequate staff to run these centres besides providing infrastructure,” he adds.

Dr Jaspreet Singh, the medical officer at the OOAT centre at Bhagupur, more than 1,000 new patients have got themselves registered for treatment in July itself. “We register nearly 150 patients daily and provide the daily dose to 400 patients. We are forced to work overtime to cater to the rush,” he says.

At present, the centre has a counsellor, a pharmacist, a nurse and a warden.

Patients admit there is no shortage of medicines but the wait for treatment takes hours.

(by Anil Sharma)

Free treatment of needy addicts only on paper in Bathinda

The model drug de-addiction centre at the Bathinda Civil Hospital has seen a rise in the number of patients over the past fortnight but is yet to provide free treatment to addicts from needy families.

Bathinda civil surgeon Hari Narain Singh says no such instructions have been received.

The state government charges Rs 250 a patient per day at the five model de-addiction centres, while Rs 200 per patient is charged daily at the rest of the 32 state-run de-addiction centres.

The 50-bed centre, attached to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, has 37 patients at present. “About 15 patients used to be admitted here but in the past two weeks, the number has been above 30 patients,” says an employee, requesting anonymity.

The number of addicts in the outpatient department has also doubled during the period. There is no shortage of medicines despite the rise in the number of patients.

(by Prabhjit Singh)

Lone doctor, nurses soldier on without security in Mansa

The drug de-addiction centre at Khyala village in Mansa. (HT Photo)

In June, a psychiatrist at the drug de-addiction centre in Mansa went on leave for not being able to take the pressure of working simultaneously at three places. Besides her work at the civil hospital in Sangrur, she was assigned additional charge at the Mansa Civil Hospital and the district’s drug de-addiction centre.

A month on, the lone medical officer manages the rehab and de-addiction centres.

“Yes, I’m coming, please give him the dose,” Dr Faazal Singh Sangha tells the paramedic at the 50-bed rehab centre, while he checks on cases at the deaddiction centre. Dr Sangha, who joined on June 6, arrives at the de-addiction centre on the city’s outskirts every morning, attends to an average of 30 drug addicts a day at the OPD and then heads to the rehab centre, where he works till late in the evening.

A nurse at the Khyala de-addiction centre finds it difficult to manage the indoor patients in the absence of a security guard. “The patients hurl abuses and even start removing their clothes. It is difficult to manage them in the absence of guards. All four posts of guard are vacant,” she says.

The centre has only 10 beds, which is inadequate. “We are helpless in admitting patients most of the times as all 10 beds are normally occupied,” says an attendant, requesting anonymity.

(by Prabhjit Singh)

Fighting shortage of staff in Samrala centre

Police personnel and a counsellor interacting with family members of drug addicts at the de-addiction centre in Samrala. (HT Photo)

The Samrala drug de-addiction centre, which gets 50 patients daily, has a counsellor, a psychiatrist, a medical officer, three nurses, a ward boy and two security guards. Two posts of nurse are vacant, forcing the staff to work on rotation.

Psychiatrist Sudha Vasudev says, “If the centre gets more patients than the 10 beds, they are admitted to the civil hospital. A patient admitted at the centre pays Rs 200 a day, while OOAT is free.”

In two months, the de-addiction centre got 156 patients addicted to heroin and 135 consuming poppy husk.

(by Deepa Sharma Sood)

Outpatient treatment centre are a bigger draw in Dasuya

With the launch of the Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) in May, enrollment for the residential de-addiction centre in the civil hospital declined. Most addicts are now being treated at the OOAT centre, where they get a daily dose of Buprenorphine and Naloxon.

“It’s convenient for the patient, who is given a unique identification code using which one can get the regular dose from any centre,” says de-addiction nodal officer Dr Baldev Singh. More than 85 patients have got themselves registered with OOAT so far.

At present, 12 patients are admitted in the de-addiction centre. Most are in their twenties and were introduced to drugs by friends. One of them says he is the only son of his parents. He started taking habit-forming capsules seven years ago but soon his friends got him hooked to ‘chitta’. To satisfy his cravings, he became an unwitting courier of the substance and would sell household items for his daily fix. “My family learnt about my habit very late. They sold land to fulfil my needs but when they became bankrupt, they forced me to join the de-addiction centre,” he says.

His first attempt at reformation failed as he quit the treatment in less than a month. On July 5, he again got himself admitted. “I want to come clean and start a new life. I don’t want to give more pain to my parents,” he says.

Centre psychiatrist Harjit Singh says the patients were being helped to kick the habit through counselling and meditation. The centre has a counsellor, four medical staff members, two helpers and round-the-clock security.

Treatment for poor patients is free, while others are charged Rs 200 a day.

(by Harpreet Kaur)

Facilities need upgrade as demand grows in Barnala

The de-addiction centre at Barnala in the civil hospital complex charges an addict Rs 200 a day, including bed charges, medicines and meals. The centre has treated 1,870 addicts since it was opened in June 2014.

The 10-bed centre is, however, proving to be inadequate. Six patients have been adjusted on temporary beds in wards, while another 13 are undergoing treatment at the rehab centre.

The centre has a psychiatrist, a counsellor, four staff nurses, four security guards, two sweepers and two ward attendants.

Psychiatrist Parvesh Kumar says, “We have 84 patients registered under OOAT.” Every month, nearly 45 patients are admitted with 25% relapse cases, says counseller Sukhwinder Singh. A 32-year-old property dealer admitted at the centre says, “I need to go abroad on July 25 and want to detoxify myself. I’m satisfied with the treatment here.”

(by BB Goyal)

75% of patients heroin addicts in Jalandhar

Ever since the government crackdown, six new patients have been reporting daily to the model drug de-addiction centre at Jalandhar Civil Hospital.

As the staff struggle to cope with the rush, this 50-bed centre is left with no choice but to provide new patients treatment through OPD.

Psychiatrist Aman Sood says, “Nowadays 50-70 patients visit the OPD daily as compared to 30-35 two months ago. 75% patients are heroin addicts.”

Records show 572 new patients were registered in the last four months, while 1,734 old patients were treated in the OPD and 352 were given indoor treatment during the period.-

(by Jatinder Mahal)

Awaiting security, staff at Balachaur centre

The 10-bed de-addiction centre at Balachaur is in a state of disuse. (HT Photo)

The 10-bed drug de-addiction centre here has been defunct since the government has failed to provide a boundary wall, security and a psychiatrist to run it. It doesn’t have a facility to prepare meals either. The infrastructure is gathering dust and rooms are lying locked.

At present, only the OOAT is being run by two medical officers and two male nurses from an office outside the de-addiction centre, where at least 50 patients report daily.

Medical officer Sandeep Gill says in the absence of staff and security, patients are either referred to Jalandhar or Ropar civil hospitals or PGIMER, Chandigarh.

Senior medical officer Ravinder Singh Thakur says the centre can work only once staff, security and infrastructure needs are addressed. “The authorities are in the know,” he adds.

(by Parampreet Singh Narula)

Most addicts in 20-40 yearr age group in Malout

The drug de-addiction centre here has seen a steady rise in the number of patients over the past two months.

Official records show 333 drug addicts approached the Malout drug de-addiction centre in May of which 35 were admitted. 363 addicts visited the 10-bed centre in June.

Psychiatrist Rashmi Chawla says, “Deaths due to suspected drug overdose have led to more addicts reporting. Most are in the 20-40 year age group.”

“Patients usually cooperate but sometimes they get aggressive. Male nurses handle them. We ask a family member to accompany such patients during treatment,” she adds.

(by Sarbmeet Singh)