By Staff Reporter
29/10/2015
A substance abuse update session focusing on Mental Health Awareness Campaign will be held on Friday, 30 October 2015 at Dr. George Mukhari Academic Hospital.
This campaign is hosted by the City of Tshwane in partnership with Dr. George Mukhari Academic Hospital under the theme “Zero tolerance to substance use”. This partnership will collaborate with other therapeutic multidisciplinary teams that share the same aim of eradicating the excessive use of substances (in line with the National Drug Master Plan 2013/2017). The objective of the campaign is to conduct an awareness campaign to reduce the number of substance related disorders diagnosis in patients, stakeholders to disseminate knowledge to the public on challenges related to substance abuse, reinforce zero tolerance policies for communities regarding the use substances, encourage the users to seek assistance at primary, secondary or tertiary health levels and for referral for rehabilitative measure including educating service users and their parents about mental health matters.
Dr. George Mukhari Academic Hospital is an entity of Gauteng Health caters for various illnesses including the management of mental illness for users who are dependent on substances. It has a turnover of 1131 outpatients per quarter, of which 90% of these patients are diagnosed with substance related disorders. Nyaope is one of the substances that has been identified as destroying the lives of substance users. Alcohol and drugs are linked to the rise in non-communicable diseases including HIV and AIDS, cancer, heart disease and psychological disorders such as violent crime, either as perpetrators or victims as well as the risk of long-term unemployment due to school dropout.
