The government rehabilitation centres turned into Covid centres in Patna. Drug addicts had a difficult time during the lockdown.
Patna: Drug addicts in Patna had to go to private de addiction centre since no rooms were available for them in the government rehabilitation centre. Experts said admitting the patients was necessary since online counselling doesn’t suffice. Patients must be taken care of in the rehabilitation centre depending on the seriousness of addiction.
Amit Sharma, a patient at a de addiction centre said, “I tried to control it but that constant urge of taking the drug was uncontrollable. It compelled me. The atmosphere that I’m getting here was not at my home, therefore, I couldn’t stop taking it.”
The CEO of Disha de addiction centre, Rakhi Sharma said, “We are admitting patients by making one of the centres as quarantine centre. So, we were able to take the new patients by taking the tests and getting them treated.”
Psychiatrists say it is difficult to treat addicts at home as they go through a psychotic phase. While getting treated they experience withdrawal syndromes that leads to mental disorders in severe cases.
“Patient gets violent and creates nuisance in the house that’s why attendants want to save themselves from this situation. Even though there was a complete lockdown, drugs were available in the state. This was the major reason why guardians wanted the relapsed or new cases to get admitted,” said Dr Rakesh Kumar, a neuro-psychiatrist.
Drug addiction can lead to severe consequences in patients, therefore, it is crucial to get the patients treated in a rehabilitation centre said the psychiatrist.
