Surge in drug addicts seeking treatment

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 10

The district administration has claimed that footfall at 10 Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) centres, where 4,780 drug addicts are being provided free treatment, has increased.

Deputy Commisisoner (DC) Kamaldeep Singh Sangha said the average registration of patients at the OOAT clinics of the state had increased from 70 new patients per day in June to 408 new patients per day in July.

Meanwhile, Tarn Taran Deputy Commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal said 5,710 addicts were being treated at the OOAT centres in the district.

He said that capacity building training was being imparted to the teams, comprising medical officer, pharmacist, staff nurse and data entry operator, to ensure proper treatment for addicts at the level of community health centres.

Officials said that in order to provide health care services and treatment to drug-dependent persons at the village level, they were provided treatment without having been admitted to hospitals. He said that the authorities concerned were strictly instructed to ensure functioning of clinics and centres as per standard operating protocol and mark daily attendance of persons visiting these centres.