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Bulawayo Bureau
Ingutsheni Central Hospital has detained 46 people, among them school pupils and teenagers, since July for abusing drugs. Hospital chief executive officer Dr Naboth Chaibva said as a result of rampant drug abuse, parents must monitor their children’s behaviour.

He said parents should desist from letting their children go for “sleepovers”.

“At the present moment although we have young people with substance induced psychosis, we do not have any statistics that link them to the Vuzu parties and some of those are young adults, not teenagers,” said Dr Chaibva.

“Currently we have 46 clients as from 1 July 2015, of these three are women, 43 males, six of whom are teenagers from 14 to 19 years of age.

“They are usually brought in because of behavioural problems, for example verbal and physical aggression, rowdy behaviour, vandalism, poor personal hygiene, criminal activity etc.”

Dr Chaibva expressed worry on children, saying parents should take note of change in their behaviour.

He said Ingutsheni partnered the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to educate pupils against substance abuse.

He said some of the risks facing children include becoming school drop outs.

“Their treatment, care and support is a drain on the taxpayer,” he said. “Because the teenagers will be intoxicated they neglect to take precautions and increase the chances of getting and spreading infections such as sexually transmitted disease and HIV.”

Ingutsheni is the largest referral institution in the southern region for patients suffering from psychological or mental health disorders.