About 60 percent of treated women are currently addicted to alcohol, 10 percent combine alcohol with addictive drugs, and almost 30 percent with meth, marijuana, or sedatives. This year, the Women's Department for Addiction Treatment at the General University Hospital in Prague commemorates the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first specialized facility for women in what was then Czechoslovakia. Since October 11, 1971, almost five and a half thousand patients have undergone treatment. Ten years after treatment, one third of women admitted today and almost two thirds of those who have completed treatment properly.

The first women's department started its activities under the leadership of doc. Jaroslav Skála and prof. Jiří Heller in Lojovice near Prague. It was a branch of the anti-alcohol department of the Psychiatric Clinic of the General Hospital and the First Medical Faculty of Charles University. The treatment of women was moved to the Department for Addiction Treatment of the General Hospital "U Apolináře" only in 2002.

The treatment system was then built on the basis of a program for men, but doctors adapted it to women's needs. They were inspired in Germany and extended their treatment to four months. They also emphasized family therapy, the atmosphere in the ward, feedback, a aftercare program, or a self-help organization for abstinent dependent women. The scoring system was extended to a feedback information system.

For more information, see press release.