Not a single medical card holder has been referred for essential treatment at residential addiction facility the Rutland Centre this year, a Dáil committee was told yesterday.
Dr Fiona Weldon told the Joint Committee on Health that because of changes in HSE policy “no public patients” whatever had been referred for treatment to the centre.
“We are concerned this loss of access to our residential care programmes lessens the chances of successful recovery for many,” she said.
She also warned of a significant rise in addiction to prescription drugs.
The Rutland Centre, operating in Dublin 16 for 30 years, has 25 beds and offers residential treatment for addictions to alcohol, drugs, compulsive gambling and sex as well as eating disorders.
Dr Weldon told the committee that in the past, roughly 50, or a quarter of the centre’s annual clients were medical card holders, but this year no medical card holders had been referred.
“To our mind this constitutes a serious loss of service for public patients, for the centre itself and for the wider public good,” she said.
She also said the centre had seen a significant rise in addiction to prescription medications.
“Many individuals are taking these medications for the treatment of anxiety or sleep problems without ever having had access to psychological therapy for the treatment of these conditions in primary care,” she said.
There was also an increase in the numbers of people with chronic pain who were addicted to opiate pain medications. “Skunk”, a strong form of cannabis, was also a concern and there had been an increase in the numbers of young males addicted to ketamine, a veterinary tranquilliser.
Young women with undiagnosed anorexia had become addicted to opiates while using them to suppress appetite, Dr Weldon said.
Amel Yacef, youth health coordinator with Ballyfermot youth centre The Base, said there was a gap between service providers and young people, particularly in the relationship between gardaí and young people.
“There are serious reports of gardaí harassing young people,” she said. Gardaí were beating them up and the behaviour had become “completely normalised”, she said.
“I cannot emphasis it enough; it is happening,” she said.
James Hurley, a client of the centre, told the committee young people did not respect gardaí.
“Why should we show them respect when they look down on us like a bunch of dogs?” he asked.
Tony Geoghegan, chief executive of Merchant’s Quay Ireland, which providers services to homeless people and drug users, emphasised that drugs treatments worked and saved money for the exchequer by reducing health and criminal justice bills.
He also highlighted the growing use of prescription drugs. And he said there needed to be an “immediate increase” in the number of dedicated detoxification beds available to those seeking to become drug free. There were only 50 such beds in the country to service 20,000 opiate users, he said.
