The Ludhiana psychiatric forum has decided to discontinue the use of buprenorphine in their clinics to mark protest against the arrest of two psychiatrists.
Dr Sudha Vasudev and Dr Ashish were arrested from Mullanpur last week on the charges of selling de-addiction medicine without licence and 18,500 tables of buprenorphine were recovered from them. A case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered against them.
Punjab and Chandigarh branch of the Indian Psychiatric Society (PUNCIPS) president Dr Satish Verma also backed the decision of Ludhiana psychiatric forum. All private practitioners, including Dr Rajeev Gupta, Dr Pankaj Verma, Dr Puneet Kathuria, Dr Naresh Bansal, Dr PS Khurana, Dr Anshu Gupta, Dr Pami Singh and psychiatrists from Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Christian Medical College and hospital and GTB Hospital and others, have unanimously decided to stop the use of buprenorphine in their clinics till the issue resolves.
“As the Punjab government has announced that it will provide adequate treatment and medicines to the state’s drug addict population via their own de-addiction centres, we the Ludhiana psychiatric forum have decided to refer patients of opioid addiction to these centres,” said Dr Rajeev Gupta.
Dr Puneet Kathuria said, “We can resume the services once various administrative, legal and clinical issues are resolved with the administrative and government agencies.”
Dr Puneet Kathuria said, “We can resume the services once various administrative, legal and clinical issues are resolved with the administrative and government agencies.”
The PUNCIPS president said, “All psychiatrists of Punjab will discontinue the use of this medicine, which is considered best for de-addiction purpose.”
Memo submitted to DC
The psychiatrists association submitted a memorandum to deputy commissioner (DC) Rajat Agarwal and assistant civil Surgeon Dr KS Saini on Monday. The members said, “The doctors were competent to prescribe the medicine and were not selling drugs but the de-addictive medicines for those who need help. They should not be treated as drug peddlers. Administrative action can be initiated by the government for private practice, but no criminal case should be registered.”