Sobering-up station
Encyclopedia
A sobering-up station is a medical facility in which intoxicated
people can spend one night to become sober
under medical control, in the Czech Republic
, Russia
and Poland
. Those in need of more long-term treatment will be referred to a rehabilitation center
.
.
was opened in 1951 by the psychiatrist Jaroslav Skála
; its first patient was a Russia
n naval engineer. During its first 30 years of service, Prague
's sobering-up station treated over 180,000 people. Other facilities in the country treated over 1,000,000 people. During its peak in Czechoslovakia, there were over 63 sobering-up stations.
almost every larger city has a sobering-up station. Being drunk itself is not a criminal offence in Poland, but police and local police have the right to forcefully transfer an individual to a sobering-up station if he/she poses a threat to the public security and order (which may also include cases of domestic violence caused by alcohol abuse), or if his/her condition poses a threat to his/her own health and sefety (this may be the case with drunk people found sleeping outdoors during very low temperatures or wandering in potentially dangerous places, such as railway lines or busy roads). Even if there are no further charges against a person, one will not be released from sobering-up station until one is sober. In extreme cases it means a two-day stay. Patients are under constant medical and nursing supervision and must pay for treatment, because no insurance covers it. Some people refer it as "the most expensive hotel in town".
When the local authorities of the city Kielce
shutdown their facility in 2010, the local hospital's ER quickly became flooded with drunk people brought by police. Not only it became a problem for the hospital but also it is more cumbersome for police to hold aggresive drunk people. In a sobering-up station, where such people are simply locked-up, it takes fewer officers and less medical staff to keep an eye on them. For this reason most cities' authorities praise their sobering-up stations.
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
people can spend one night to become sober
Sobriety
Sobriety is the condition of not having any measurable levels, or effects from, alcohol or other drugs that alter ones mood or behaviors. According to WHO "Lexicon of alcohol and drug terms..." sobriety is continued abstinence from alcohol and psychoactive drug use...
under medical control, in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Those in need of more long-term treatment will be referred to a rehabilitation center
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
.
Russia
Sobering-up stations were introduced in 1904 by Archangelskiy Fedor Sergeevich in TulaTula, Russia
Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...
.
Czechia
The first sobering-up station in CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
was opened in 1951 by the psychiatrist Jaroslav Skála
Jaroslav Skála
Jaroslav Skála was a Czech psychiatrist, fighter against alcoholism, and inventor of the sobering-up station.-Life:...
; its first patient was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n naval engineer. During its first 30 years of service, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
's sobering-up station treated over 180,000 people. Other facilities in the country treated over 1,000,000 people. During its peak in Czechoslovakia, there were over 63 sobering-up stations.
Poland
In PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
almost every larger city has a sobering-up station. Being drunk itself is not a criminal offence in Poland, but police and local police have the right to forcefully transfer an individual to a sobering-up station if he/she poses a threat to the public security and order (which may also include cases of domestic violence caused by alcohol abuse), or if his/her condition poses a threat to his/her own health and sefety (this may be the case with drunk people found sleeping outdoors during very low temperatures or wandering in potentially dangerous places, such as railway lines or busy roads). Even if there are no further charges against a person, one will not be released from sobering-up station until one is sober. In extreme cases it means a two-day stay. Patients are under constant medical and nursing supervision and must pay for treatment, because no insurance covers it. Some people refer it as "the most expensive hotel in town".
When the local authorities of the city Kielce
Kielce
Kielce ) is a city in central Poland with 204,891 inhabitants . It is also the capital city of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship since 1999, previously in Kielce Voivodeship...
shutdown their facility in 2010, the local hospital's ER quickly became flooded with drunk people brought by police. Not only it became a problem for the hospital but also it is more cumbersome for police to hold aggresive drunk people. In a sobering-up station, where such people are simply locked-up, it takes fewer officers and less medical staff to keep an eye on them. For this reason most cities' authorities praise their sobering-up stations.