CLINIC DEATH SPARKS NEW REVIEW OF DETOX LAWS

THE NSW Government last night announced an urgent review of private
drugs detoxification clinics after a Sun-Herald investigation revealed
an urgent need for proper guidelines and increased medical
supervision.

The moves come after the death of a 19-year-old Liverpool mother in
the waiting room of a clinic which has since closed.

The Rapid Detox Centre was already in receivership when it began
treating Thi Ngoc Diem Nguyen with naltrexone. Her parents, who paid
$2,900 for the course, claim proper procedures were absent.

Fairfield city councillor Thang Ngo, who has taken up the case, called
on Health Minister Craig Knowles to act immediately to prevent another
tragedy.

And former workers and a doctor who left the centre have raised
concerns about the level of medical supervision at detox centres in
the absence of agreed government guidelines.

Mr Knowles said yesterday he had issued orders for his department to
review controls.

"With the commercial promotion of naltrexone for detox, the Government
is concerned to ensure the quality and safety of clinical care
provided at private detox facilities," he said.

Mr Knowles said the Federal Government had done nothing, despite a
call from a coroner last month. He intended raising the matter at a
health ministers' meeting in New Zealand next month.

The case highlights a flaw in the legislation which allowed naltrexone
to become a prescribed drug in NSW.

The Rapid Detox Centre in Speed Street, Liverpool, is owned by Jack
Roberts, a former plumber and developer turned medical entrepreneur.
In 1998, he hired anaesthetist Dr Siva Navaratnam and launched the
Rapid Detox Centre, a quick withdrawal program for heroin addicts.

With an aggressive advertising campaign, the new centre was swamped by
patients paying $6,900 to complete the detox course.

But insiders claim the level of patient care quickly deteriorated.

Dr Navaratnam left the centre in April this year because, he claims,
he "hadn't been paid in months". He accused Mr Roberts of "caring
nothing for the service, only for the money".

"I was angry," he told The Sun-Herald. "The service I was dedicating
my life to was being driven into the ground."

Mr Roberts recruited another doctor from another clinic he owned. But
this doctor was juggling the Rapid Detox Centre with his regular GP
duties. He also had no experience in the field.

Christian counsellor Joy Barwell said she was working in the clinic
the first day the GP started the job.

"He was very interested in getting on and doing the job, but he was
definitely learning the program for the first time," she said.

Last month, Mr Roberts placed the clinic in the hands of receivers, as
well as his Penrith and Fairfield centres.

Ingleburn father Rossario Cimone is one of four people considering
suing the clinic for negligence.

In June, Mr Cimone tried without success for five hours to get help
for his son Phillip, who was on a home pre-detox medication course.

Phillip was going "absolutely hysterical" as his parents tried to
administer the medication, Mr Cimone said. He tried to call the centre
for help.

"But the switchboard was being diverted to an on-call mobile which
didn't get answered. We kept Phillip under close guard while we kept
on calling.

"But later on, he went out for a cigarette on the second-floor
balcony. In a flash, he'd jumped. His smashed right arm is currently
held together by pins, he broke two ribs and suffered a punctured
lung. He remembers nothing of it.

"We paid a $500 deposit for that episode, he never finished the course
and now we have to go through receivers if we want to get our money
back. At least we are lucky we still have him."

The Nguyen family from Smithfield are still mourning their daughter,
whom they buried last week. She died in the clinic's waiting room two
weeks ago after suffering insomnia and vomiting for three days -
without medical assistance.

Australia's leading naltrexone expert is Dr George O'Neil from Perth.
He said of Thi's three-day wait for help: "If the young girl did
indeed wait that long, she didn't stand a chance."

Mr Roberts refused to comment when The Sun-Herald called at his
Seaforth home. "I have no comment to make," he said. "The matter is in
the hands of police and that is all I am going to say."