A chronic bed shortage means Bahrain’s drug treatment programme is failing addicts who seek help, according to a senior counsellor.

There are just 29 beds at Bahrain’s only drug treatment unit, which treats an average of 324 patients every year, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

An estimated 30,000 drug addicts are in Bahrain, but latest figures show that of those seeking treatment less than one per cent actually complete the 12-step rehabilitation programme.

A senior counsellor is now proposing that private hospitals should be involved in treating addicts to alleviate pressure on Bahrain’s only rehab centre at the Psychiatric Hospital.

“According to the latest figures by health officials, there are around 30,000 individuals suffering from drug addiction and the only place to treat them is the Psychiatric Hospital’s Almoayyed Drug and Alcoholic Rehabilitation Unit,” drug addiction counsellor Dr Sharifa Swar told the GDN.

“Based on our study, we need more than 29 beds to treat around 324 drug addicts annually in Bahrain.

“The staff at the unit are working hard to help patients, but the way we are presently going only 0.31 per cent will complete the full treatment.”

Drug addicts require treatment for a range of issues such as depression, anxiety and physical symptoms that result from psychiatric problems.

But due to constraints facing the drug treatment unit, three-quarters of addicts who show up never even start the 12-step treatment programme and only a quarter of those who do manage to get past step three, according to a study commissioned by Dr Swar and conducted by Bahraini mathematician Ebrahim Sakhnini.

“The unit can accept around 30 patients for the 12-step recovery programme, which lasts for six weeks, meaning several patients are left out and continue with drug use,” said Dr Swar.

“Based on the study, only 25 per cent of the 324 patients treated yearly at the unit complete three out of the 12 steps, while 75 per cent do not benefit in any way and continue with their habits.

“A majority of them are not being rehabilitated with the present set-up.”

Dr Swar is now proposing an expansion of the drug treatment programme, which involves private medical facilities providing treatment so that more addicts can benefit.

“Private hospitals should be allowed to treat addicts under the supervision of the Health Ministry or authority concerned,” she said.

Her comments coincide with the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls today.

Dr Swar also suggested that a change of approach was needed in Bahrain, saying that addicts needed to be regarded more as ‘patients’ than ‘criminals’ to encourage more to seek help.

“These addicts are patients who require treatment; they should not be looked at as criminals,” she said.

“This will help many people suffering from this problem to seek help from us or counselling centres.”

Psychiatric Hospital chairman Dr Adel Al Offi told the GDN last month that a proposal for a new drug treatment facility with 120 beds had been submitted by MPs and approved by the Cabinet four years ago, but the project never started.

The Southern Municipal Council last month proposed Isa Town as a potential location for the new centre, which parliament approved.

However, the final location for the facility has not yet been announced.

Interior Ministry statistics for 2014 show that more than 1,000 people, including 436 Bahrainis, were arrested last year for drug-related crimes.

There were also 31 deaths from drug overdoses last year, the highest number since 2010.

In a statement yesterday, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime executive director Yury Fedotov said only one in six people who use drugs globally has access to treatment.

He added that one in three drug users globally were women, but females accounted for only one in five drug users in treatment. - TradeArabia News Service