LAHORE: The Punjab Healthcare Commission on Saturday sealed an illegal drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation centre, rescued 38 patients and shifted them to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health for treatment.

According to a press release, a PHC team accompanied by the district administration and police conducted a raid on the Panah Rehab in Riwaz Garden, which was functional without requisite human resource - psychiatrists, doctors and paramedical staff - and insufficient facilities like residential and emergency cover. Only 10 beds were available and patients were made to sleep on the floor in congested rooms. The centre was being run without registration from the PHC and medical record of the patients while the attendants were also untrained. The administration had also not screened patients for different diseases like hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, etc.

Sanda police registered a case against owner Syeda Saadia Ghaznavi. This is the second centre of the owner which has been closed down by the PHC.

Earlier, the Panah Hospital on Nisbet Road was sealed and proceedings are under way at the commission.

A PHC spokesman said [so far] the commission conducted raids on 83 drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation centres and rescued 710 people. “Out of the visited centres, 38 have been completely and six partially sealed,” he said, adding that show-cause notices were served on 24 centres after stopping them from taking new admissions and discharging the admitted patients. Fine to the tune of about Rs6 million has been imposed on the violating centres.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2019