Now we are talking. And there are numbers to consider as well. The revelation that more than 120 children and teenagers have been treated at St Giles Hospital for serious mental health conditions linked to drug use over the past five years is something to think about.
We learn that it is exposing what authorities describe as a growing and troubling crisis.
For crying out loud, we have been talking about this for some time now. Or rather, for some years now!
The Fiji Times has been advocating the set-up of well-resourced rehabilitation centres to treat drug addicts now for more than four years. We have highlighted the predicament addicts find themselves in. We have spoken to experts in the police force and in the health system, and we have laid it out for the powers that be to do something about it.
And have they? Nothing! And we don’t understand why!
Figures from St Giles Hospital show that the young patients, all aged 18 and below, were referred following significant incidents, many involving the courts and complex legal allegations.
Acting Superintendent Sheetal Singh described the number as alarming, not because of its size, but because of the severity of the cases. Over the past five years, she noted, there have been approximately 120 such child and adolescent cases.
Now that’s huge. And think about it! Those are the reported cases. We wonder how many other cases are out there, struggling silently? How many more young people are battling addiction and mental illness daily, unseen and unsupported? And, mind you, many are unable to get out of the cycle of addiction! As Dr Singh said, they are attending to the “ones who are coming to us with problems”.
“They are being referred by court for psychiatric evaluation because they are into some legal allegations.”
The cases are becoming complex, she said, with many young patients battling multiple disorders alongside substance abuse. Teenagers arriving at treatment facilities are often diagnosed with serious mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, and that was only part of the picture.
Many are consuming a dangerous cocktail of substances, from methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, to cannabis, ketamine, glue and other inhalants, kerosene and benzene, alcohol, heroin and cocaine. The combination of psychiatric illness and poly-drug use significantly complicated treatment and recovery. The crisis extends beyond addiction and mental illness.
In the face of all that, needle sharing and high-risk drug practices were also leading to additional health emergencies, which we know already, ranging from HIV to tuberculosis infections among young users.
Now think about this. We have one centre to attend to these patients, which is quite challenging, and the hospital is already under pressure! Healthcare providers, she pointed out, now have the task of treating psychiatric conditions, substance dependency, infectious diseases, and social and legal complications, and often all at once.
Dr Singh believes increased awareness may also be contributing to higher reported cases which is a good thing.
“There is more awareness in the community, so people are more willing to come up and get help.”
However, in the face of this awareness, experts believe the trend may signal a deeper social issue, demanding urgent intervention from families, schools, law enforcement and health services. Again, we say, what’s keeping us from setting up rehab centres urgently?
In January this year, the Ministry of Health finally confirmed that a new rehabilitation hospital for drug addicts would be built in Tamavua over the next two years. It is good that we finally have a timeframe. But why two years?
So where do the addicts out there go to over the next two years? To a full St Giles? Are we serious? So the announcement has been made. Thank you very much! Seriously! Is that it? Announcement done! Finito! Now we wait? Someone needs to be accelerating timelines, mobilising resources and interim facilities, and bringing in partnerships where necessary. Someone needs to be pulling out all stops and urgently doing something! Like yesterday!
