With 30 beds, city gets its largest juvenile de-addiction ward

Subodh discovered cannabis two years ago, at the age of 8. His father had become bedridden after an accident and his mother was working all the time to make ends meet. His friend suggested 'ganja' as a way of coping with the stress. Now 10, Subodh is under therapy at the Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital in Ashok Vihar.

Recently, after a probe by the Juvenile Justice Court, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare set-up the city's largest juvenile drug de-addiction center at the hospital. The city has five more such centres but they can barely be called wards.

The 30-bed ward at the Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital was inaugurated on May 16. The authorities also plan to start a de-addiction OPD for follow-up check-up of the discharged patients.

Currently, the ward has 18 children, between the age of 8 and 18 years, under therapy for substance abuse and other problems. A dedicated staff of two Senior Resident Psychiatrists, five Medical Officers, and a clinical Psychologist has been provided. The children are being helped to recover from addictions including for tobacco, opium, smack, and avil injections. In fact, some of these children have acquired HIV after sharing needles.

"This is the need of the hour. We have been receiving children from all age groups, abusing various kinds of drugs. There is a need to give these tender minds proper care and guidance," Dr Rakesh Gupta, Medical Superintendent of hospital, said. "We are receiving these addicted patients from NGO Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM), as directed by the government," he added.

Elaborating further, Dr Jateen Ukrani, Senior Psychiatrist at the hospital, said: "It is not just therapies for drug de-addiction. We also have to asses their problems and look into their physical well-being. When they come to us, most of them are suffering from infections, or diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. Along with therapy, medication is also given to help them."

Ishaan, 13, still remembers the time he first started taking avil injections out of peer pressure. Living on the streets, he formed the habit when he was just 9. Once, particularly intoxicated, he went to the railway tracks and met with an accident. His left leg had to be amputated later.

When he first came to the hospital three weeks ago, he suffered from severe withdrawal symptoms, such as nightmares, insomnia, and loss of appetite. But now, he is better and even playing with other kids.

"To help them cope with the severe withdrawal symptoms initially, we substitute the harmful drugs with less addictive and less harmful, milder medication. We detoxify them gradually," Senior Psychiatrist Dr Hemika Agrawal said. "We also organise yoga and meditation classes every morning, and an activity officer involves them in different activities," she added.

In 2014, in a child rights petition, Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi had asked the government to act on the issue of child drug abuse. The Supreme Court had then directed the Central government to come up with a national action plan to control drug abuse among people under the age of 21 in the next six months.

...& ANALYSIS

• 20 per cent of drug addicts in India are under the age of 21. The de-addiction ward at the Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital is a step towards solving this crisis.