PHC stops addiction treatment centres from functioning

LAHORE: Punjab Healthcare Commission has stopped five addiction treatment and rehabilitation centres from functioning and completed a comprehensive report for further action.

The PHC teams carried out inspections of 17 treatment and rehabilitation healthcare establishments in different parts of the city and five were stopped from functioning. These included Focus on Life Clinic, Bund Road, Silver Lining Rehabilitation Centre, Addiction Recovery Centre, Allama Iqbal Town, Shaaf Clinic, Kumahaan Road and Rah-e-Najat Clinic, Canal Bank Society. These establishments had neither appointed any psychiatrist and doctors nor trained or educated staff. And if there were any appointments, the persons were either visiting or on-call. Moreover, Umeed Hospital, Rehmanpura and Emaan Clinic, Johar Town were also stopped from taking new admissions since these had already accommodated maximum number of patients.

The spokesperson of the commission said that the commission was not allowing any healthcare establishments to function, which had not obtained licence from the PHC and were not implementing the minimum service delivery standards (MSDS).