Al-Amal Hospital to set up section for rehabilitated women

RIYADH: Al-Amal Mental Hospital plans to create a section to help women continue their rehabilitation after hospitalization due to drug-related problems.

The section will be set up due to the suggestions of specialists on drug addiction treatment. The hospital is run by the Ministry of Health.
“The section aims to help women who have had drug-related problems live a normal life,” said Dr. Faisal bin Mohammed Al-Zikri, the hospital’s addictions department head.
He added that the services will be available in the morning and later on will be extended until evening if and when there is a a need.
He said the section will receive female addicts after treatment of drug-taking symptoms and symptoms of poisoning, but conditionally free from mental disorders or severe organic diseases associated with addiction.
The department will provide full services in a manner that will prevent them from going back to using drugs. He added that the department group will include doctors, psychologists, social workers and hospital nurses.
Al-Zikri said the number of female addicts who had visited the hospital was few compared to male counterparts but demand for treatment continues to grow because of awareness of the disease.
“The hospital is pressing for the implementation of development programs that would contribute to the reduction of relapse among addicts after treatment,” he said.
He added that the group will undergo training under drug-addiction treatment experts.
“The idea is to make themselves physically and psychologically fit in dealing with and in treatment of women who have had drug-related problems,” he said.
A report said that Saudis form 54 percent of drug users in the Kingdom and that addiction among women had increased by 20 percent during the past few years.