Rehab center strips and beats patients to cure withdrawal and addiction

  • In Chennai, India, after a 26-year-old addict was taken by his brother to a rehab center his brother returned home and received a call from the rehab center saying that his addict brother was being rushed to a government hospital due to being in critical condition. Usually, that's the end of the story because families believe death is due to the drugs but this was an altogether different story.

    A friend of the deceased individual's family said he had gone through treatment at the same center and mentioned that "inmates there were stripped naked when they experienced withdrawal symptoms and beaten when they grew violent." This was news to the family of the recently deceased but, for three years, to others it was well known that questionable methods were used to cure patients. "They are stripped naked, beaten if they turn violent due to withdrawal symptoms, and finally administered a paracetamol-caffeine combination regimen before being made to sleep on a bare floor in a 8x8 room with an attached toilet but no doors."

    Recently, new centers have been opening up all over town and the rest of India to help cure the increased number of individuals addicted to drugs and alcohol but are allegedly being ran by under-qualified staff or individuals that have recovered but are looking to help others.

    "The issue is not as much about intent as the lack of regulation. A drug or alcohol rehab centre needs to have qualified doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists besides other paramedical staff, which these independently-run outfits sorely lack. Most of them, according to Shanti Ranganathan who spearheads one of the state's largest professionally-run de-addiction centres, TT Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation, are in dire need of oversight. "It's sad but I have heard that some of our patients have also started such clinics. What's even worse is you can't call these centres illegal as there is no mandatory requirement for them to even register," she said."

    The Times of India has the entire article here.

    December 16, 2009 @ 3:02 PM

Categories > Subcategories (179)

Tags (5)

Associated News (66)

Comments (0)

This news article has no comments. Be the first to post a message by clicking here!

Post A Comment