Users of narcotic substances are being treated in only six beds of a Psychiatry ward. People with addiction diseases are treated in the same place as those with mental disorders.
During this year, 60 admissions were registered, where their treatment lasted more than 800 days. Due to the small number of capacities, patients are often treated in wards where they are not expected.
Kosovo does not have an Institute for the Treatment of Addiction Diseases, which is considered necessary.
Within the Psychiatric Clinic, there is a special ward where people with addiction diseases are being treated. This clinic also has four other wards, but the one where these cases are treated has the smallest capacity.
The director of the Psychiatric Clinic, Faton Kutllovci, indicates that there is an increase in the number of cases of drug users seeking treatment.
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"If we take into consideration the increased needs, especially in recent years, I'm talking about the last year, the largest number was during 2019, then there was a decrease during the pandemic years 2020-2021 and there has been an increase now during the year 2022. And so far we have 812 days of treatment, 60 admissions and this presents us with problems. Because we only have six beds, very big demands", he said.
A large number of requests for mandatory treatment come from the courts. Admitted persons stay up to ten days for detoxification, while other patients, according to Kutllovci, are treated in other departments.
"We are often forced to treat these patients in other wards, for example in ward A, where people with mental disorders or psychotic disorders are treated, because even patients who abuse psychoactive substances, in addition to other complaints, we we do not have an institution with greater capacities. Better to say, Kosovo is in great need of an institute for the treatment of addiction diseases, because the needs are increasing", adds Kutlovci.
He said that the construction of the Institute for the Treatment of Addictive Diseases should be a national strategy.
Safet Blakaj, who is the director of the Specialized Psychiatric Center "Labyrinth" in Pristina, considers the need for the construction of this institute essential.
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"We think that it is definitely necessary to have an institution outside the Psychiatric Clinic where drug users would receive their most specific services. I wouldn't say that it should be for a large number of patients, but in any case, it should be a reference center for the treatment of drug users, but also for monitoring the state of drug use situations in Kosovo". says Blakaj.
The center does not offer 24-hour service, but medical services, psychiatric visits and psycho-social support. The first six months of this year have recorded an increase in the number of drug users.
"During this year that they received service from us, the number is 212 drug users. There is an increase in the number of drug users, but the types of drugs are changing. Previously, in 2014, heroin was the main drug, since 2017, and especially in 2019, and especially in this year, we have a rapid increase in the number of cocaine users. Of course, marijuana is the drug that is mostly used all over Kosovo", says Blakaj.
Lulkuqe Gashi from the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture at the People's Advocate Institution, says that during the monitoring visits they noticed that 50 percent of the cases treated in Psychiatry are users of narcotic substances.
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"Really, it is not their place to be treated at the Institute of Forensic Psychiatry, there is almost always a lack of capacity in this institution. Because in the Psychiatry ward only a special ward for the treatment of these people for up to two weeks for detoxification. However, we do not have a special institution for the treatment of persons who are users of narcotic substances in Kosovo. This is missing in Kosovo, I really hope that this point will be defined in the Law on Mental Health and this sensitive category will be addressed", declares Gashi.
Within the framework of the new law on mental health, the establishment of an Institute for the Treatment of Addiction Diseases is foreseen. The working group for drafting the concept document for mental health has already been formed. /KSP
