Gandhi Hospital: First public hospital to have de-addiction center in Telangana

Hyderabad: Gandhi Hospital is the first tertiary center in Telangana to integrate a de-addiction center in a general hospital.

This is a major boost for psychiatry and also patients who come with these conditions in emergency. There are several cases of attempted suicide, overdose of drugs due to depression where the patients are admitted in emergency.

But after treatment, there is counselling where they are advised to go to psychiatric hospital at Erragadda for treatment.

Many patients never go there and the de-addiction does not happen.

By allocating beds in the general hospital, Telangana government has now made it possible to cure these patients when they come to them.

Telangana Health Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha inaugurated the de-addiction center in Gandhi Hospital on Saturday. A comprehensive strategy to combat drug abuse was also discussed in detail.

A Historic Hub for Healing

Gandhi Hospital, an institution with a 172-year legacy has evolved beyond its traditional role as a premier surgical and cardiac center. The hospital’s Department of Psychiatry has pioneered in Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) clinic.

Significantly, Gandhi Hospital is among the first tertiary care institutions in the state to integrate specialized de-addiction units within a general hospital setting. Unlike traditional isolated psychiatric wards, this tertiary-level initiative allows for "Liaison Psychiatry"—treating drug addiction alongside other complex medical conditions, which is crucial for patients suffering from organ failure or infectious diseases due to long-term substance abuse.

Key Highlights of the Government Initiative

The Minister detailed a multi-pronged approach to transform how the state handles drug addiction and forensic medicine:

Treating Addiction as a Health Crisis: The government is shifting the narrative, urging society to view drug abuse among youth not as a social stigma, but as a treatable health condition.

The Hub-and-Spoke Model: A De-addiction Center of Excellence was recently inaugurated at the Institute of Mental Health, Erragadda, acting as the central "hub." This will support "spoke" units in 35 Government General Hospitals (GGHs) across the state.

Expansion of Facilities: Special Intoxication Care Units (SICU) and De-addiction Counseling (DAC) centers are being standardized across the state to provide both acute detoxification and long-term rehabilitation.

The EAGLE System: On the enforcement side, the government has launched the EAGLE system to tackle drug trafficking. Minister Rajanarsimha emphasized that under the leadership of CM Revanth Reddy, the law will act strictly against offenders regardless of their social or political status.

"Do not distance those suffering from addiction. Encourage them to seek treatment. With the right support at the right time, recovery is completely possible," said Damodar Rajanarsimha.

Modernizing Forensics and Mortuaries

Beyond de-addiction, the Minister highlighted the government’s commitment to forensic medicine, which he described as the "key bridge between health and justice."

To improve the dignity of the deceased and provide better working conditions for doctors, the government is installing state-of-the-art mortuary facilities at Osmania Hospital, TIMS, and the Warangal Super Specialty Hospital. Furthermore, to address the shortage of specialists, the government plans to increase the current 37 Post-Graduate (PG) seats in Forensic Medicine.

Telangana: A Global Pharma Powerhouse

The Minister reminded the audience that Telangana is a global medical leader, home to 1,500 manufacturing units and 50,000 medical shops. With Hyderabad’s vaccines saving lives globally during the pandemic, the Minister warned that any negligence in drug quality or safety—including the diversion of medicines for intoxication—would be met with severe consequences to protect the state’s international reputation.