Government de-addiction centre in Gurugram closed due to expiry of licence

The centre, Haryana’s first de-addiction centre in a government-run hospital, is mandated to have 10 beds for patients dealing with substance abuse, among other facilities such as space for cooking and ventilation.

The de-addiction centre at the Civil Hospital in Sector 10, which hadn’t been admitting patients for the last two months due to lack of space for beds, was closed last week after its license expired and wasn’t renewed, officials said.

The outpatient department of the Civil Hospital in Sector 10 sees around 20 patients . (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

The centre, Haryana’s first de-addiction centre in a government-run hospital, is mandated to have 10 beds for patients dealing with substance abuse, among other facilities such as space for cooking and ventilation. However, according to officials of the health department, for the last two months, patients were forced to share one bed, and after that bed was moved, it had no beds at all

“For some time, the centre had only one bed and two patients were occupying it. Recently, the sole bed was also moved to other department, because of which we couldn’t admit patients,” said an official who wished to remain anonymous.

The outpatient department of the Civil Hospital in Sector 10 sees around 20 patients who need de-addiction treatment for alcohol, substance, tobacco and behavioural addictions, according to hospital staff. Of these, at least a couple require admission and frequent care, hospital psychologists said. However, these patients are being sent home due to lack of beds, officials said.

In July, the centre was shifted from the Civil Lines building to Sector 10 to make way for renovation of the former. The centre was functioning with 10 beds when it was in Civil Lines.

Deepa Sindhu, principal medical officer of the Sector 10 hospital, said the process of the renewal of the license has been done. “The centre at the Sector 10 hospital was only a temporary arrangement as it didn’t have space for it to run. The health department is looking for another space for the centre,” she said.

In 2017, 460 patients were treated at the centre for alcohol, tobacco and drug addiction, while in 2016, the number of patients had crossed 1,000.