National coordinators discuss health and social care for drug users

A two-day informal meeting of the national drugs coordinators of the EU member states began today in Bratislava. The topic was an integrated approach to health and social care for drug users. The event organised under the Slovak Presidency was hosted by the Ministry of Health, which is a coordinator of the state drug policy.

The meeting was opened and chaired by the Director-General of the Health Section of the Ministry of Health, Dr Boris Bánovský, who also gave a presentation in the first discussion panel. Other speakers included Mr Roland Simon, a representative of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). Participants agreed that the situation in each member state is specific. However, it is necessary to link medical and social care. Each member state strives for social reintegration as well as a cure for problematic and dependent drug users, including users affected by concomitant illnesses.

The common European objective should be the creation and expansion of integrated care models that cover needs related to mental and physical health problems, rehabilitation and social support. The Ministry of Health's chief expert on medical drug addiction and director of the Centre for Drug Treatment Mr Ľubomír Okruhlica, experts from the specialised therapeutic psychiatric institution in Predná Hora, and representatives of citizens' associations active in the field of harm reduction and risks associated with the use of psychoactive substances also took the floor.