Rehab centre banned from providing detox treatment

Detox and withdrawal treatment at alcohol and drug rehab centre Heilbrigdi puts patients at risk, with potentially fatal consequences.

So says chief medical officer Lars Fodgaard Møller, who has ordered the centre to immediately stop providing detox and withdrawal treatment following an announced inspection of the centre on 25 May.

The ban means that Heilbrigdi will not be allowed to take in patients unless they have already received detoxification treatment.

Clear rules required

The ban may be revoked if follow-up inspections find that Heilbrigdi has implemented clear rules regarding staff responsibilities and qualifications with regards to detox and withdrawal treatment.

Heilbrigdi will also be required to prove that it complies with best-practice procedures and to explain how it ensures that patients are adequately assessed by a doctor before receiving detox treatment with benzodiazepine.

No medical assessment prior to treatment

It is crucial, says Møller, that a doctor assesses whether a patient admitted to the centre should undergo treatment.

The inspection on 25 May found cases in which detox treatment had taken place without any prior assessment by a doctor.

Treatment plans were also found to be unsatisfactory.

Potentially fatal consequences

Møller adds that insufficient examination and supervision of patients undergoing detox and withdrawal treatment may have potentially fatal consequences.

Too much medication may cause breathing cessation, and too little may result in severe withdrawal symptoms and delirium.

Moreover, he says, medical expertise is required to distinguish between withdrawal symptoms and other illnesses.

”The detoxification and withdrawal treatment at Heilbrigdi may compromise patient safety as there is a risk of severe and potentially fatal consequences,” Møller concludes in his letter to Heilbrigdi.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

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