Efforts on to reopen GMSH-16 drug de-addiction centre closed for 5 years
According to Dr Suman Singh, Director of Health Services, a proposal has already been sent to the administration for the recruitment of two psychiatrists. She mentioned that the department currently has only two psychiatrists who are already overloaded with patient cases, making it impossible to run the de-addiction centre with the existing staff. Therefore, additional dedicated staff is essential.
This de-addiction centre at GMSH was first opened around 10 years ago but had to be shut during the Covid-19 pandemic when the facility was converted into a Covid care centre. Since then, the lack of psychiatrists and other staff has prevented its reopening.
The facility is equipped with 10 beds, but to operate efficiently, it requires 24×7 staff, including psychiatrists and clinical psychologists. As only two psychiatrists are available for all psychiatric and addiction cases, managing the high patient load from the entire region is a challenge. Drug and alcohol abuse remain a major issue in this region, contributing to the rising number of addiction patients.
Despite the rising numbers, PGI remains the only public institution offering full-scale addiction treatment, while GMCH-32 and GMSH-16 offer basic psychiatric services. In 2023, PGI's Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre recorded 36,683 OPD visits, 12,570 from Chandigarh and 24,112 from neighbouring states. Approximately 246 patients were admitted for inpatient treatment, with a significant number from Punjab. In Punjab, the highest use is of opioids, with synthetic drugs now also being used more frequently.
Subodh B N, Additional Professor, Department of Psychiatry, PGI, says that a decade ago, 80 per cent of cases were of alcohol dependency. Still, now the percentage is 50, as the use of opioids and cannabis has increased, with PGI offering patients Opioid Substitution Therapy. Doctors stress that without dedicated staff and proper infrastructure, the situation will continue to push patients toward unregulated private de-addiction centres, especially in Punjab. Reopening GMSH's de-addiction centre remains a critical need, but hiring qualified professionals continues to be a major hurdle.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Indian diplomat visits Syria for meetings with regime led by al-Sharaa
New Delhi: India has made a formal outreach to Syria's provisional government led by former Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, with a middle-ranking diplomat visiting Damascus for meetings with Syrian ministers. Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. (REUTERS) This was the first official visit to Damascus from the Indian side since al-Sharaa, whose group was once affiliated to al-Qaeda, assumed power after ousting the regime of Bashar al-Assad following a lightning offensive last December. There was no official word from the Indian side on the visit by Suresh Kumar, director of the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) division of the external affairs ministry. Kumar's meetings with Syria's foreign and education ministers in Damascus on Monday were reported by State-run SANA news agency. 'A beginning had to be made and India had to register its presence. You have to open the door at some point,' a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. Syria's foreign minister Asaad Al-Shaibani and the Indian delegation led by Kumar discussed 'issues of mutual concern and ways of enhancing relations between the two countries in the interests of both peoples', SANA reported. The meeting between Kumar and Syrian health minister Musab Al-Ali focused on enhancing health cooperation, particularly in the fields of pharmaceutical industries and medical training, according to another report by SANA. The two sides also discussed a mechanism for implementing a scholarship for Syrian students, and allocating a specialised engineering cooperation programme for government employees. Al-Ali stressed Syria's aspiration to establish a strong partnership with India in pharmaceutical industries and health technologies in order to support the national health sector and provide medicines. Kumar said India will continue funding specialised training courses for Syrian personnel, coordinate the training of Syrian doctors in Indian centres, and enhance cooperation in nursing, pharmaceutical industries and pharmaceutical exports, the report said. India has had strong political ties with Syria and both countries were key members of the Non-Aligned Movement. India's traditional support for Arab causes such as the issue of Palestine was appreciated by Syria. India also backed Syria's right to the Golan Heights, currently occupied by Israel, and its full return to the country. Under the Assad family, the Syrian government usually backed India at multilateral forums, including on the issue of Kashmir. In response to a request from Damascus for emergency humanitarian aid in 2021, the Indian government gifted 2,000 tonnes of rice to Syria. During the Covid-19 pandemic, India sent 10 tonnes of medicines to Syria. This was the largest medical assistance from any country to Syria during the pandemic. India has been monitoring the situation in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. At the time, India evacuated 77 Indian nationals from Syria. 'We hope that the new constitution, due to be drafted, takes into account the interests of all the sections of the Syrian society,' the external affairs ministry said in a statement around the time of the change of government. In January, al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who went by the name Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, became president of the provisional government. People familiar with the matter said the outreach to Damascus was influenced by Syria's strategic location in West Asia – the country shares borders with five key regional actors, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon – and the long-standing ties between the two sides. The outreach also follows the US decision to end sanctions on Syria after a meeting between al-Sharaa and President Donald Trump in May.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
AIIMS experts advocate for robust data, surveillance in India's hepatitis elimination plan
New Delhi: India's hepatitis elimination strategy must prioritise the generation of robust epidemiological data, strengthening integrated surveillance systems, universal access to diagnostics and antivirals and active engagement by the private health sector, said AIIMS experts . In an editorial, 'Hepatitis B virus prevalence in India: A wake-up call for action,' doctors highlighted that despite decades of interventions, HBV remains prevalent, and the progress toward elimination remains slow. According to them, harnessing the momentum of telemedicine expansion initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with decentralised healthcare delivery models, availability of generic antivirals and the use of artificial intelligence for patient management, could significantly enhance hepatitis B virus (HBV) care. The editorial by AIIMS doctors - Dr Shekhar Swaroop and Dr Shalimar of the Department of Gastroenterology and Dr Subrat Kumar Acharya, former HoD of the same department and presently serving as the pro-chancellor at the KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, was published in the Indian Journal of Gastroenterology in June this year. "As the world's most populous nation and a key player in global health, India must prioritise viral hepatitis as a central component of its public health strategy, not only to meet WHO targets, but to protect future generations from this entirely preventable disease," the doctors stated. According to the Global Hepatitis Report 2024, approximately 29.8 million individuals in India were estimated to be living with HBV infection in 2022. The HBV ranked as the third most common cause for cirrhosis, after alcohol and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. The HBV accounted for approximately 98,305 deaths in India in 2022, reflecting a significant disease burden. Chronic HBV infection confers an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and approximately 25 per cent of these individuals will develop HCC during their lifetime. Additionally, HBV reactivation is an acute precipitant of acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) in around 15% of the patients globally and in 7.7 per cent in South-East Asia, according to a recent meta-analysis, the editorial said. To address this challenge, India launched the National Viral Hepatitis Control Program (NVHCP) in 2018, aiming to reduce the incidence, morbidity and mortality of HBV. Initiatives under this programme include hepatitis B vaccination, universal screening of donated blood and interventions for preventing mother-to-child transmission. "While significant progress has been made, particularly with third-dose hepatitis B vaccine coverage reaching approximately 93% in 2023 and the proportion of children aged 12-23 months receiving all three doses improving from 62.8 per cent (NFHS-4) to 83.9 per cent (NFHS-5), critical gaps still remain," the editorial pointed out. Birth dose vaccination coverage stands at 63 per cent, while the diagnosis rate is 2.4 per cent and treatment coverage rate 0.0 per cent. These figures underscore significant deficiencies in the current response and highlight urgent areas requiring improvement, the doctors stated. Accurate prevalence estimates are essential for guiding public health strategies and resource allocation. In this context, the recent community-based prevalence study by Rajalatchumi et al. from Puducherry represents a valuable contribution. The researchers invited all adults from four villages of rural Puducherry for HbsAg testing, achieving a commendable 94 per cent participation rate. The study found an adjusted prevalence of 2.5 per cent after adjusting for the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic test, higher than the NFHS-4 estimate. Interestingly, younger individuals showed a higher infection rate, and blood transfusion remained a risk factor, suggesting ongoing gaps in infection control and awareness, the doctors stated. When compared to a 2013 study from the same region, which reported a prevalence of 2.96 per cent, there was little change over the past decade, pointing to significant gaps in public health strategies and infection control measures, they stated. Despite methodological strengths, the study's generalisability is limited by regional heterogeneity across socio-economic status, transmission risk factors and healthcare access. Nevertheless, this study is a timely and very relevant reminder of the persistent burden of HBV in India, the doctors said. "Despite decades of interventions, HBV remains prevalent and the progress toward elimination remains slow. This is further hindered by limited public awareness, the absence of mandatory screening protocols and limited linkage to care," they said, adding nationally representative population-based surveys are rare and existing surveillance systems remain fragmented and under-resourced. PTI
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
How Many Lives Did Covid-19 Vaccines Save? New Global Study Reveals The Numbers
Last Updated: According to the research, 82% of the lives saved involved individuals who had received the vaccine before being infected by the coronavirus A new international study has revealed that Covid-19 vaccines saved more than 25 lakh lives between 2020 and 2024, highlighting the profound global impact of mass immunisation efforts during the pandemic. The study, published in the JAMA Health Forum, was jointly conducted by researchers from Universita Cattolica in Italy and Stanford University in the US. It estimates that around 25.33 lakh lives were spared due to vaccination, with one death averted for every 5,400 doses administered. Covid-19 first emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and swept across the globe within months, triggering unprecedented health, economic, and social crises. In response, scientists raced to develop vaccines, and by the end of 2020, several versions were rolled out worldwide. Billions received two primary doses, with many also taking booster shots. While questions were occasionally raised about the vaccine's long-term effects, particularly concerning heart-related issues, health experts repeatedly dismissed such claims, maintaining that the benefits far outweighed any rare side effects. The new study offers quantitative backing to those assertions. Elderly Benefited Most The researchers found the vaccine's impact was most significant among those aged 60 and above. In this age group, the vaccine prevented 90% of potential deaths. Of the estimated 1.48 crore life-years saved globally, 76% were among the elderly. Moreover, 82% of the lives saved involved individuals who had received the vaccine before being infected by the virus. The protection was particularly evident during the Omicron wave, a highly infectious phase of the pandemic that alone accounted for 57% of the prevented deaths. Limited Impact on Children and Youth In contrast, the benefit of vaccination among children and young adults was marginal, largely due to their lower baseline risk of death from Covid-19. For individuals aged 0 to 19, the number of lives saved was just 0.01%, while life-years saved stood at 0.1%. For those aged 20 to 29, deaths prevented amounted to 0.07%, with 0.3% life-years gained. Global Data, Comprehensive Scope The study was led by Professor Stefania Boccia from Universita Cattolica, in collaboration with Dr Angelo Maria Pezzullo and Dr Antonio Christiano, both affiliated with Stanford University under a European research initiative. Their analysis drew on global data concerning Covid-19 infections, mortality, and vaccine distribution. Using statistical modelling, the team estimated how many more people might have died in a scenario without vaccines. What sets this study apart is its scale and scope. It is the first global research effort covering the full timeline of the pandemic – from the early days in 2020 through to 2024. It not only compares outcomes among vaccinated and unvaccinated populations but also measures the difference in impact across different virus variants, especially before and after Omicron emerged. Beyond deaths prevented, the research also sheds light on the concept of 'life-years saved", a measure that considers not just whether a life was saved, but how many more years that person might live. This adds further depth to understanding the vaccine's role in mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic's toll. view comments First Published: July 29, 2025, 15:03 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
