News / Health
Ingutsheni dedicates ward for drug addicts rehab
27 Oct 2021 at 17:21hrs | Views
INGUTSHENI Hospital has announced plans to establish a drug addict rehabilitation centre at the psychiatric institution after the government raised alarm over rampant drug abuse in the country.
In June, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said his government would take stern measures to stamp out this growing threat of drug abuse, particularly among teenagers and the youth.
Government has also announced plans to upgrade existing mental health institutions so that they can admit drug abuse patients as part of efforts to tackle substance abuse among youths.
Ingutsheni Hospital chief executive officer Nemach Mawere told Southern Eye that the drug rehab centre will accommodate just over a dozen patients.
"The whole idea about rehabilitation of such a ward is to improve community care service. The ward is likely to take in 14 to 15 inmates once it is constructed," Mawere said.
A cocktail of drugs such as the chemically-treated marijuana called skunk, white-sniffing-powder, Tik, and BronCleer cough syrup are popular among the youth.
According to the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe, BronCleer which is manufactured in South Africa is not licensed for sale in the country, even with a prescription, but finds its way into the country through smuggling.
Public health experts have identified peer pressure, breakdown of the family support system, limited knowledge about the effects of drug abuse and stress as the major factors that drive substance and drug abuse among the youth.
Meanwhile, Mawere also revealed that Ingutsheni's male ward was overcrowded because relatives had abandoned their family members at the hospital.
"The male ward for people with mental illness is still overcrowded and the reason is none other than that people are still not coming to fetch their recovered relatives," Mawere.
"The inmates are packed because people have abandoned their relatives. We encourage the public to come and take their relatives home so that they manage them from home. We need to create space for others who also need hospital services."
Ingutsheni is the country's largest referral mental hospital.
In June, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said his government would take stern measures to stamp out this growing threat of drug abuse, particularly among teenagers and the youth.
Government has also announced plans to upgrade existing mental health institutions so that they can admit drug abuse patients as part of efforts to tackle substance abuse among youths.
Ingutsheni Hospital chief executive officer Nemach Mawere told Southern Eye that the drug rehab centre will accommodate just over a dozen patients.
"The whole idea about rehabilitation of such a ward is to improve community care service. The ward is likely to take in 14 to 15 inmates once it is constructed," Mawere said.
A cocktail of drugs such as the chemically-treated marijuana called skunk, white-sniffing-powder, Tik, and BronCleer cough syrup are popular among the youth.
According to the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe, BronCleer which is manufactured in South Africa is not licensed for sale in the country, even with a prescription, but finds its way into the country through smuggling.
Public health experts have identified peer pressure, breakdown of the family support system, limited knowledge about the effects of drug abuse and stress as the major factors that drive substance and drug abuse among the youth.
Meanwhile, Mawere also revealed that Ingutsheni's male ward was overcrowded because relatives had abandoned their family members at the hospital.
"The male ward for people with mental illness is still overcrowded and the reason is none other than that people are still not coming to fetch their recovered relatives," Mawere.
"The inmates are packed because people have abandoned their relatives. We encourage the public to come and take their relatives home so that they manage them from home. We need to create space for others who also need hospital services."
Ingutsheni is the country's largest referral mental hospital.
Source - NewsDay Zimbabwe
