More rehabs needed in Kerala: Officials

KOCHI: The consumption of narcotic drugs is at an all-time high in Kerala. The state has witnessed a three-fold increase in the number of cases relating to narcotic drugs this year. While the police and other agencies have initiated several awareness campaigns, and also intensified surveillance, a major lacunae that experts point to is the dearth of de-addiction and rehab centres It has been nearly two years since the excise department submitted a proposal to start 28 rehab centres across the state, considering the “growing demand for treatment”. They are yet to materialise.  

Likewise, the Kerala government is yet to implement an AIIMS-sanctioned project to set up an addiction Treatment Facility (ATF) at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital - a first-of-its-kind unit in the state. “The project fund was granted two years ago, but the government is yet to initiate work on the facility, which would be the first model de-addiction facility offering treatment for inpatients,” says a health department official, requesting anonymity.

It is learnt that the Thiruvananthapuram MCH was one of the 25 places selected for the project in the country. “The government is yet to even claim the `50 lakh allotment from AIIMS,” the official notes.
According to health experts, drug addiction is a chronic brain disease and Kerala lacks adequate inpatient facilities to treat such patients. “Those seeking treatment for addiction at hospitals are often admitted along with psychiatric patients,” says a top health official.

“That is not the right way to treat them. Separate facilities need to be set up. After treatment, we need to follow up on these patients, who are mostly youngsters. Only then can we hope to bring at least 50 per cent of them back to normal life.” Currently, the state has 14 rehabilitation centres, one each in every district, attached to taluk hospitals. Officials highlight the number is inadequate, and the number of distress calls they have been receiving is way more than what the existing centres can cater to.

“We have proposed two more rehabilitation centres in each district. We are getting a lot of enquiries and calls requesting help,” says a senior excise official. “Often the centres are far away from the city centres. In Palakkad district, for instance, the rehabilitation centre is located at the Attappadi taluk hospital. It is not easily accessible for people in the city. We need to provide facilities that are easily accessible.”

These rehabilitation centres, since their launch in 2018, have treated around 77,781 outpatients and 6,593 inpatients. Sources say most of them are yet to function in full swing. In many places, there is staff shortage, too, they add. One health official a “proposal has been submitted” to enhance rehab facilites. “It is going to take some time,” he adds. “In addition to infrastructure, staff, including social workers, psychiatrists, and nurses have to be appointed.”