These are the questions families actually ask on the phone, answered as directly as they are asked. Where the honest answer is uncomfortable — about consent, about guarantees, about what a low price usually means — it is given anyway.
For anything specific to your situation, call 0333-5556427. The line is answered at any hour and a first conversation carries no obligation.
If it is urgent
Collapse, suspected overdose, a seizure, or immediate risk to life needs an ambulance first, not a rehabilitation centre. The signs of opioid overdose are pinpoint pupils, slow or absent breathing, blue or grey lips and unresponsiveness; the person should not be left alone or put to bed to sleep it off.
Otherwise emergency admission is available 24 hours a day. Withdrawal that has already started, a history of withdrawal seizures, suicidal thinking, psychosis or severe agitation are all treated as urgent rather than scheduled.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can we force an adult into treatment?
- No. An adult must consent to admission, and no legitimate centre will collect and detain someone because the family has asked and paid. Where a person is refusing, a home visit brings assessment to them and families can be seen on their own first for advice.
- How much does treatment cost?
- It depends on the length of stay, the level of medical cover, the accommodation and how much therapy is included. Call for current fees, and ask any centre for the total in writing including what is charged separately.
- Are free or zakat-funded places available?
- A limited number, with availability changing through the year and eligibility assessed case by case. Say plainly when you call if you cannot afford treatment; it does not change the care offered.
- How long does treatment take?
- Detoxification occupies roughly the first week. Residential rehabilitation after it is measured in weeks rather than days, because the psychological work is what changes the outcome. The length is set at assessment and reviewed as treatment progresses.
- Is detox alone enough?
- No. Detoxification makes the body safe but leaves untouched the reasons the substance was being used, and it lowers tolerance, which raises overdose risk if use resumes. It is the first stage of treatment rather than a complete treatment.
- Which withdrawals are actually dangerous?
- Alcohol, benzodiazepines and sleeping tablets, and pregabalin or gabapentin — all of these can cause seizures if stopped abruptly and require a supervised taper. Opioid withdrawal is intensely unpleasant but rarely fatal in a healthy adult, though it is dangerous in pregnancy and where there is significant physical illness.
- Is treatment confidential?
- Yes. Information indicating that someone is seeking treatment is treated as sensitive and shared only with staff providing care. It is not disclosed to employers, schools or colleges, and not to extended family without consent.
- Can we visit, and can we speak to the patient?
- Family visiting is part of treatment rather than an interruption to it. Some restriction on patient phone access early in an admission can be clinically justified, and where that applies it is explained and time-limited, with staff still available to update the family.
- Is there a separate facility for women?
- Yes. There is a dedicated ladies ward with female staff and separate facilities so that women can receive detoxification and residential treatment in an appropriate environment.
- Do you treat teenagers?
- Yes, and differently from adults. Outpatient treatment with sustained family work is the usual starting point, and residential admission is avoided where it is not clinically necessary.
- What if there is a mental illness as well as an addiction?
- Both are treated together in one plan. Psychiatric assessment is part of admission and is repeated once acute withdrawal has settled, because diagnosis made during withdrawal is unreliable.
- Why is relapse after treatment more dangerous than before it?
- Tolerance falls during abstinence. For opioids, a dose that was routine before treatment can suppress breathing afterwards, which is why the period of highest relapse risk is also the period of highest overdose risk.
- Does a relapse mean the treatment failed?
- No. It means something in the plan did not hold and needs identifying. Patients who report a lapse early do considerably better than those who conceal it, which is why the family response to a lapse matters.
- Can you guarantee recovery?
- No, and no centre can. Dependence is a relapsing condition, and good treatment substantially improves the odds rather than producing certainty. Treat any guaranteed cure, or any success rate the centre cannot explain how it measured, with caution.
- What happens after discharge?
- Aftercare is arranged before discharge: follow-up appointments, continued psychotherapy, psychiatric review where relevant, family sessions, and a defined route back into treatment if a lapse occurs. Home visits are available where attendance becomes difficult.
- Can treatment be arranged from abroad?
- Yes. Assessment and admission can be arranged by telephone with a family member overseas, with a local relative attending in person. The patient's consent still has to come from the patient.
- What should we bring to an admission?
- Identification, all current medication in its original packaging, any previous records or discharge summaries, basic personal items, and contact details for the one family member who will be the point of contact.
- Where is the centre?
- Khana Pul, Ghauri Town, Phase 1, near Masjid Khulafa e Rashideen, Islamabad — close to the Rawalpindi boundary and accessible from Bahria Town, DHA and the Islamabad Expressway corridor.