Illegal rehab centre sealed

LAHORE : Punjab Healthcare Commission on Saturday sealed a drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation centre, evacuated 38 inmates and shifted them to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health for treatment.

The PHC team conducted a raid on ‘Panah Rehab’ in Riwaz Garden, which was functional without requisite human resources and insufficient facilities like the residential and emergency cover. Only ten beds were available, while inmates 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 inmates, while the attendants were also untrained.

The administration had also not screened patients for different diseases like hepatitis, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. An FIR against owner, Syeda Saadia Ghaznavi, has been registered by Sandah police station. This is the second centre of the owner, which has been closed down by the PHC. Earlier, The Panah Hospital on Nisbat Road was sealed.

A spokesperson of PHC has said so far the commission has conducted raids on 83 drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation centres, and evacuated 710 persons. “Out of the visited centres, 38 have been completely and six partially sealed,” he said, adding that show-cause notices had been served on 24 centres after stopping them from taking new admissions and discharging the admitted patients. Also, so far a fine of about six million rupees has been imposed.