OST clients protest sloppy service
Source: The Sangai Express / Mungchan Zimik
Ukhrul, March 21 2024:
Ukhrul clients of Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) staged a sit-in protest in front of Ukhrul District Hospital and expressed their resentment against the inadequacy of staff at the OST centre of Ukhrul.
The OST centre is attached to Ukhrul District Hospital, Hungpung.
The protesters said that the condition of OST patients in Ukhrul has turned from bad to worse due to shortage of staff at the centre.
OST is an evidence-based intervention for opiate-dependent persons that replaces illicit drug use with medically prescribed, orally administered opiates and it reduces HIV risk behaviours and harms associated with injecting opioid.
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Speaking to the media on the sideline of the protest, Rarayung, an OST dependent person, said that they were compelled to stage the protest due to the disruption in supply of OST medicines and other shortfalls. "We (OST patients) depend on this medicine," he said.
He said that there is only one nurse to attend to over 500 OST patients at the centre and it has become burdensome to both the lone staff and the patients.
The protesters urged all concerned to understand their grievances and do the needful.
The protesters held placards which read "Give us OST staff," "We choose OST, not Drugs" and "OST heals drugs" among others.
It is reported that Irengbam Arjun Singh (Data Manager) and Waikhom Memtombi Devi (ANM) posted in Ukhrul Centre have been transferred to OST centres at Moirang and Singjamei respectively and no replacement has been sent as of yet.
DACO Ukhrul/Kamjong District (in-charge), on the other hand, said that she has requested the Project Director of Manipur State AIDS Control Society to depute required OST staff in Ukhrul centre at the earliest possible.
Ukhrul OST centre has 320 registered clients and 200 unregistered clients.