B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Faridkot to get first tertiary drug de-addiction centre
Faridkot, April 30
As drug abuse has turned out to be a complex phenomenon- impacting social, cultural, biological and economic aspects, so the Punjab government has now decided to set up a tertiary de-addiction centre in Faridkot to provide a specialised and highly technical level of healthcare to the addicts that includes diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.

Health services in shambles in CM’s home district
Muktsar, April 30
Health services in the CM's home district Muktsar are in shambles. The district has just 58 doctors against the sanctioned strength of 105.
The dilapidated sub-health centre at village Bhai Ka Kera in Muktsar district. Photo by writer

Faridkot to get first tertiary drug de-addiction centre
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 30
As drug abuse has turned out to be a complex phenomenon- impacting social, cultural, biological and economic aspects, so the Punjab government has now decided to set up a tertiary de-addiction centre in Faridkot to provide a specialised and highly technical level of healthcare to the addicts that includes diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.

The state government has sanctioned Rs 5 crore for the construction of this modern de-addiction centre and installing specialised intensive care units, advanced diagnostic support services, and hiring the services of highly specialised personnel, said Dr SS Gill, vice-chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Science (BFUHS).

The state government will provide Rs 1.6 crore in annual aid to this de-addiction centre which is being set up adjacent to the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot.

Besides giving highly specialized treatment to the addicts and rehabilitating them, this tertiary centre would also impart training to the medical and paramedical staff in the dispensaries and health centres in the rural area to treat the addicts, said Dr Gill.

With a surge in the number of drug addicts and the consequent threat to law and order, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal last week convened a meeting of medical experts, ministers and senior officials of the health and medical education department at his residence. "Deciding to establish five tertiary de-addiction centres in Punjab, the CM said these centres would be open at Faridkot, Patiala, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Bathinda," said Dr Gill.

Addicts have now started intravenous drug use, that too in combination with other sedatives and painkillers. This has increased the intensity of the effect, hastened the process of addiction and complicated the process of recovery, said Dr Harish Arora, a senior psychiatrist at the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital. Dr Arora also attended the meeting with the CM.

"The scale of the problem, if impossible to quantify, is undeniably immense and worrisome. The pharmaceutical products containing narcotic drugs are also increasingly being abused. The intravenous injection of analgesics like dextropropoxphene and codeine-based cough syrups continue to be diverted from the domestic market for abuse. Cracked prescription bottles of cough syrups litter the drains," said Dr Arora.

Besides medical treatment, the addicts need counselling for rehabilitation. Apart from this counselling, the new tertiary de-addictions centres would help map the prevalence of drug addiction, its causes, treatment and prevention, said Dr Arora. 

Health services in shambles in CM’s home district
Archit Watts/TNS

Muktsar, April 30
Health services in the CM's home district Muktsar are in shambles. The district has just 58 doctors against the sanctioned strength of 105. Besides, the infrastructure is crying for attention. The condition of ambulance vehicles is poor. Out of 23 units available, 20 are on the verge of being auctioned.

“Only three ambulance vehicles-two in Badal and one in Malout-are in running condition while others have lived out their life. Most of the ambulances are 10-12 years old and have run over 2 lakh km,” said Muktsar Civil Surgeon Dr Gurdeep Singh Bhullar.

Further, the condition of buildings of health centres in villages is far from satisfactory. While cracks have appeared on the walls, bricks have also started falling.

The building of the sub-health centre at Rupana village, having population of nearly 8,000 persons, is in such a pathetic state that at times, eroded plaster of the roof falls on patients.

Dr Gurmeet Kaur Bhandari, in-charge of the sub-health centre, said, “Built in 1968, the building was originally a Panchayat Ghar and was later converted into a sub-health centre. Now, the building is totally unsafe. But having no other option, we are running the centre from this building only.” She added that during rainy season, water leaks into the building and damages the equipment.

The situation was almost similar at the sub-health centre of Bhai Ka Kera village in Lambi constituency where weeds have grown at the entrance of the building. The building, which was raised in 1984, cries for immediate attention of the authorities concerned. Hygiene is another matter of grave concern here. Mattresses and bed sheets are not properly cleaned.

The officials in the department admitted that newly-built civil hospitals notwithstanding, more than 50 per cent of the buildings belonging to the Health Department and Zila Parishads were in poor condition.

However, Civil Surgeon Dr Gurdeep said, “We have apprised the higher-ups of the situation and hope necessary action would be taken in this regard.”