100 addicts register with opioid treatment centres

Tribune News Service

Nawanshahr, June 22

Outpatient Opioid-Assisted Treatment(OOAT) Centres are playing an important role in the de-addiction drive of the state government.

The two centres opened at Nawanshahr and Balachaur each have registration of over 50 addicts.They are appearing at the centres regularly to get their daily dose of combination of salt buprenorphine and naloxone.

A 30-year-old labourer, who had reported here in the initial days and was taking daily dose, said he was used to the intake of 10 tramadole tablets a day, besides chewing tobacco. Now he was given a dose daily and was feeling relieved from the addiction.

Another 27-year-old patient, who used to take four bites of “chitta” daily, has been taking four tablets daily for the past 20 days. He said he had not touched the heroin for the past many days and was feeling happy.

Another youth who worked overnight for an overseas transport company, has also been put on the OOAT treatment by his family. Though he refused to take any drug but he has been given a tablet daily. The treatment would continue for nine months to one year and after three months’ regular daily visit, he can be put on week’s dose.

As per Dr Jatin Bhalla, in charge of local OOAT Centre working at the old Civil Hospital, whenever an addict reports to OOAT centre, a counsellor interacts with him to know the history. Afterwards, the patient is referred to the in charge doctor for physical examination. After conducting physical examination, he was tested with morphine kit to ascertain the substance abuse. Going through the report of this test, the patient has been put on treatment by starting him on a single tablet.

“Apart from that he was also referred to the Civil Hospital for HHH (HIV, HCV and Hepatitis-B). If the patient is found to be positive with one of these diseases, he is also referred for further treatment along with daily dose treatment of de-addiction. The dose may be increased and set in first three days from 2 mg to 16 mg,” said Dr Jatin Bhalla.

He said depending on the intake capacity of the substance abused, the dosage is fixed. SMO Balachaur Dr Ravinder Thakur said these centres work on a daily basis from 9 am to 3 pm on the working days and 10 am to 1 pm on holidays. Each patient who is registered here is given a Unique ID number so that he does not miss his tablet and can have it from any OOAT centre by showing his UID.