Outpatient services:
Assessment, treatment planning, pharmacotherapy, counseling, relapse prevention, family therapy, and monitoring of the progress of individuals with addictive disorders. If required inpatient services would be offered and provided.
In the outpatient, the patient will be assessed by a team consisting of psychiatrists, psychologists/social workers, and psychiatric nursing. Individualized treatment will be provided accordingly.
Location: Department of Addiction Medicine (DAM) OPD is located at gate number 7 of the Hospital complex.
Outpatient Days: Monday to Saturday
Registration Timing: (9.00 am to 2.00 pm)
In-Patient Services:
A total of 24 beds are dedicated to the department of addiction medicine. 20 Male beds, 4 female beds.
Admission Procedure-related Information:
Admissions for in-patient treatment are under the discretion of the treating team.
Admission procedures are as delineated in Mental Health Care Act, 2017.
There is NO bed charge. However, a ₹ 2000 cautionary deposit is taken at the time of admission. If not spent, the same will be returned at the time of discharge.
Since most admissionsare voluntary, we assume that the patient is sincere in their desire to abstain from substances of abuse. One of the reasons for in-patient admission is that it will allow the client to take a break from their use of drugs in a protected environment.
Consequently, patients using or attempting to use alcohol or drugs during their admission or bringing psychoactive substances into the premises mayinterfere with their treatment as well as the treatment of other clients. Hence, the patients would, unfortunately, be discharged (on the disciplinary ground) from inpatient care. Other necessary legal action may have to be taken as per the stipulated law of the country if required.However, this will not prevent the patient from continuing his/her treatment on an outpatient basis or prevent subsequent admission.
As a routine procedure, patients will be subjected to random breath and urine testing for alcohol or other substances in the ward.
Patients will receive medical treatments and psychological therapies during their admission.
Group therapy: It is a regular and mandatory activity that accompanies medical treatments and all clients are expected to attend these activities. It is conducted by specialized staff with anexperience in substance use treatments.
Each client undergoes a cycle of therapy sessions in a group, specifically focused on:
Enhancing one’s motivation to change substance use behavior.
Learning skills to recognize and deal with everyday situations which are likely to trigger off a relapse.
NOTE: In compliance with the revised rules on the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply, and Distribution) Act-2003, the premises of the LGBRIMHis considered as NO TOBACCO ZONE. No tobacco use is permissible on the hospital premises.
Tobacco Cessation Centre:
The Tobacco Cessation Centre is a special service run by the Department of Addiction Medicine to aid persons wishing to quit smoking or chewing tobacco-containing products.
The clinic is held on all days, in parallel with the Addiction Medicine Clinic in the OPD.
Clients undergo a detailed evaluation, which focuses onassessing the severity of their addiction and use, and their motivation to quit.
They are then counseled regarding appropriate strategies to aid quitting, which is usually a combination of medicines to reduce the urge and craving for nicotine as well as behavioral strategies to deal with the consequences of quitting.
Also, interested individuals can visit take the help of Tobacco Quitline.
Drug-screening:
To monitor substance use in persons who are taking treatment, and to encourage trust between abstinent users and concerned relatives, we carry out drug testing. This is a simple procedure involving testing urine samples using a simple dip-stick procedure.
Community Out-reach program:
Department of Addiction Medicine is carrying out two community outreach programs at present concerning screening and brief intervention in school and college students and Awareness generation in school teachers in the Sonitpur district.