For representational purposes (Express Illustrations)
CHENNAI: Ending an 18-month-long shut down due to the pandemic, the city corporation is set to reopen its substance de-addiction centre at the Communicable Diseases Hospital (CDH) in Tondiarpet, by October 15.
The move comes after the civic body on Friday organised substance de-addiction camps across the city which saw a huge turnout. In the camps, held under Singara Chennai 2.0’s Nalamigu Chennai theme, specialists provided psychological assistance to youngsters to help overcome their addiction.
Officials from the corporation’s health department said 30 beds will be reserved for the de-addiction centre at the hospital, and it will provide both medical and psychological assistance. “The counsellors there will follow-up on patients to cut down their nicotine levels and also advise on use of nicotine patches. We are also planning yoga and therapeutic classes there,” Dr Manish Narnaware, Deputy Commissioner of Health, told TNIE.
On Friday’s camp, several residents came up saying they had a habit of consuming alcohol regularly. “The de-addiction centre will gradually help them cut down the quantity. The focus will also be on tobacco products,” added Narnaware.
During pre-Covid days, patients were asked to stay at the centre for 15 days in therapy, following which regular follow-ups were done by counsellors. “Every month, we are planning to hold awareness campaigns and the goal is to make Chennai a city free of substance abuse and addiction,” the deputy commissioner said.
In addition to this, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is also releasing grants for Drug De-Addiction Programme to set up post-drug abuse treatment facilities in all States. Currently, the Institute of Mental Health in the city is one of the 27 hospitals in the country where this is being implemented.
