A total of 18 care centers for drug addicts and alcoholics known as annexes were closed by the Institute for the Care and Prevention of Addictions (IAPA) of Mexico City from 2019 to September of this year.
In data obtained by The Sun of Mexicothrough the transparency platform, the institution assured that violations of the human rights of patients was the main cause for suspending the service of these premises.
It may interest you: They close more than 10 drug stores in Tlalnepantla
At the beginning of this administration, the IAPA had registered 215 care centers and now there are a total of 197 that comply with the regulations.
INVOLUNTARY ENTRY
Luis Ángel Pérez Rubio, subject professor at the Faculty of Psychology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, in an interview with this newspaper confirmed that the centers that work for the treatment of addictions must follow the criteria set by the federal and local governments and that They are, among others, having psychological and medical treatments and a series of guidelines for the hospitalization of patients.
Referring to the annexes, as they are pejoratively known, he stated that they have bad clinical practices. For example, the fact that people are hospitalized against their will, generally do not meet the minimum safety criteria for the patient, who receive ill-treatment in some cases, are prohibited from seeing their relatives and are basically confined.
The law states that involuntary entry must occur when the user requires urgent attention or represents a serious or immediate danger to himself, but this must be indicated by a doctor and the request of a responsible family member, guardian or legal representative, both written.
In addition, any involuntary internment must be notified by the representative or person in charge of the center to the Public Prosecutor’s Office within a period not exceeding 24 hours after the
admission.
Some centers handle the religious question as a therapy against addictions, in this regard, the UNAM specialist specified that the use of spirituality during treatment is valid, but it is not effective as a central method, so it has to be accompanied by psychological sessions. and psychiatric.
“Religiosity, spirituality, in a generic context, supervised by structures, works by itself, as the people we see on the street say, no, it is not effective, there is no evidence that it works, at least not under these conditions”, clarified Pérez Rubio.
He affirmed that 70 percent of the people under treatment against addictions remain without problems, but the rest are susceptible to relapse or have a consumption similar to the initial one.
The Law for Comprehensive Care for the Consumption of Psychoactive Substances of Mexico City stipulates that the IAPA must register the addiction care centers that provide their services, update and disseminate a register of them through electronic means.
On the organization’s website, there is currently a list of 197 institutions of this type that operate in Mexico City, most of them are in the Iztapalapa mayor’s office with 39, followed by the GAM with 31, Xochimilco with 17 and Tláhuac and Álvaro Obregón with 15 each.
Article 58 of the mentioned ordinance authorizes the IAPA to verify the operation of the centers and in the event that any of them does not give dignified treatment and respect for the human rights of the people who are undergoing treatment, it must dictate the security and safety measures. corresponding sanctions.
According to the IAPA, it does not apply a special program to monitor that these sites work properly, because the regulations that regulate them are in said law, which in its Article 5 informs about the rights and obligations of people with consumption of psychoactive substances, and the first of these is to voluntarily access detection, prevention and treatment and rehabilitation services as part of comprehensive care for psychoactive substance use.
Also, receive treatment in accordance with medical principles and with full respect for human rights.