Marcas investigadas

The healthcare of persons with addictive diseases is carried out according to the procedure set by the Ministry of Health Care in accordance with the

treatment and rehabilitation standards approved by the Order No. 204 of the Minister of Health Care of 3 May 2002 on ‘The Treatment and Rehabilitation Standards for Addictive Diseases’. There is also a provision in Lithuanian legal acts that imprisoned, detained or arrested persons have the right to receive health care services of the same quality as other Lithuanian citizens. Most patients with abstinence symptoms get into the investigation cell and from there to the psychiatric ward of the prison hospital where they are treated. The duration of in-patient treatment is 2–4 weeks. Such patients get individual treatment at the hospital, and later this work is continued by the psychiatrist at the place of incarceration.

In the Lithuanian health care system, the health care of persons with addictive diseases is part of the system of mental health care, therefore, statistical indices of prevention of addictive diseases, morbidity and ailments at the national level are coordinated by the State Mental Health Centre. At the municipality level, mental health care is ensured by mental health centres, of which, from December 2004, 65 were established throughout the country. On suspecting an addictive disorder the general practitioner refers the patient to a psychiatrist for a more exact diagnosis. The general practitioner, in cooperation with a psychiatrist (or a psychiatrist for addictive diseases), can participate in designing and implementing an individual plan for the patient’s treatment. In accordance with the regulations of mental health centres, the team of specialists organises mental health care and social support. In-patient treatment services for persons with addictive diseases are provided in five regional centres for addictive diseases and psychiatric hospitals. It is widely believed that in-patient treatment at the specialised centres for addictive diseases better suits the needs of problematic drug and alcohol users.

According to the data of the State Mental Health Centre, institutions of personal health care had 68,653 persons with psychoactive drug dependencies (alcohol and drugs) registered on 31 December 2004: 378 persons fewer than in 2003. 5,011 of all the registered persons were registered as having narcotic drug dependencies. The number of persons registered for narcotic drug dependencies is increasing every year.

In 2004, 81.7% of all persons with drug dependencies registered in institutions of personal health care were men (4,094 persons) and 18.3% were women (917 persons). In 2004, 94.1% of the persons with drug dependencies registered in institutions of personal health care were town dwellers and 5.9% were rural dwellers. Almost half, 2,159 persons (43%) had previous convictions. Opiates predominated although about 12% of dependents used several drugs (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Distribution according to groups of narcotic and psychotropic substances of patients treated for drug dependency in 2003–2005

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0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000

Opiates Source: Drug Control Department, Annual Report 2005.

In 2004, specialised centres for addictive diseases provided out-patient treatment services including abstinence-based treatments, out-patient day centre and other treatment programmes. Some specialised centres carried out additional social consultative or ‘low threshold’ programmes, prevention programmes and harm reduction programmes. Institutions providing out-patient and in-out-patient treatment and rehabilitation services are accredited by the Ministry of Health Care of the Republic of Lithuania and have licences to provide psychiatric services or psychiatric services for addictive diseases.

Therefore, the institutions have to meet the set requirements and to ensure the quality of the specialised health care services they provide. According to the data of the State Accreditation Agency for Health Care Activities under the Ministry of Health Care, in 2004 there were 30 private institutions licensed to provide addictive disease treatment services and 80 private institutions licensed to provide psychiatric services.

3.7.21 Impact of joining the EU

Ever since the preparation for accession and after the accession to the EU, Lithuania has been actively implementing the EU standards and applying the best practice in the areas of drug control and human rights protection. In the preparation of the National Strategy on Drug Addiction and Control 2004–

2008 and the National Program on Drug Control Prevention of Drug Addiction 2004–2008 in Lithuania alternative EU strategies, programmes and action plans were taken into account and their recommendations were used. At the

moment, while implementing the national policy and strategy of drugs control in Lithuania the following documents are taken into consideration: the EU Strategy Against Drugs 2005–2012, the EU Action Plan Against Drugs 2005–

2008 and recommendations of other EU documents. For example, taking into account the Decision 2005/387/TVR of the Council of Europe of 10 May 2005 concerning the information exchange about new psychoactive substances, their risk assessment and control. On 17 January 2005, the Drug Control Department approved of the Procedure of Information Exchange about the Emergence of New Psychoactive Substances and obliged the responsible institutions to exchange information promptly. The Drug Control Department registers, analyses and summarises information that is then presented to the European Drug and Drug Addiction Watch Centre, and the Police Department provides information to Europol. Since the accession to the EU, Lithuania is co-operating, exchanging information and participating in the initiatives of various levels of European institutions concerning the issues of drug control.