10-bedded drug de-addiction centre to open in Karnal

KARNAL: A 10-bedded drug de-addiction centre will open in Karnal soon. According to data provided by the health department, on an average, 400 addicts and psychiatric patients are reported every month in the psychiatry ward of Kalpana Chawla Medical College and Hospital, but it does not have a de-addiction centre.
Because of this, addicts have to go to another district for treatment. The centres are functioning in Panchkula, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Hisar, Panipat, Gurugram, Narnaul and Yamunanagar.
Karnal chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Ramesh Kumar said Karnal civil hospital had planned to establish a de-addiction centre. A resolution was passed for setting up the centre in the last annual meeting of the hospital. In a few days, a team would inspect the civil hospital to finalize the area for the de-addiction centre. Then, the process will start to set up the centre.”
For the centre’s effective functioning, a team, comprising a psychiatrist, counseller, nurses, pharmacist-cum-record keeper, security guards and some other staff, has been sanctioned. The centre will have all facilities, including an outpatient department (OPD), pharmacy and wards. An entertainment facility will also be available at the centre.
Dr Kumar said heroin was the most commonly used drug among youngsters. Middle-aged and elderly mostly take opium or dodda and ‘bhukki’ (poppy husk), he added.
Dr Kumar said drug addiction was not difficult to shun. He said one just needed strong willpower and support from family and friends. He said the district administration was willing to walk an extra mile when it came to eradicating this menace. He said if any person wanted to shun drugs, he could visit a drug de-addiction centre set up in the district and the treatment would be free of cost. “Awareness is being spread on the ill-effects of drug addiction through workshops, seminars and camps at villages in the district,” he said.