The East Rand Recovery Centre has shut down under a cloud of controversy less than three months after it opened.
Former patients and their loved ones accused the centre of gross misconduct and alleged they were badly treated by owners.
One patient says she had to ask her husband to bring them food as there was none in the centre.
“I had to ask my husband to bring us bread and biltong so we could have something to eat,” says Marie*.
The patient went on to say her time at the centre was not as effective as it could have been because of the way the staff treated the patients.
“They were too aggressive with the patients and not everyone responds well to being treated like that,” says Marie.
Other patients were also upset by the methods the staff used when a patient broke the rules and say they endangered the patients’ lives.
“The nurses would sleep through the night when some patients were suffering from withdrawal symptoms,” says Marie.

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Leon*, a former patient, claims he had his medication taken away from him even though he was suffering from a life-threatening condition.
“I was in a lot of pain and they took away my painkillers and gave me Panados.
“It got so bad that I had to get my partner to call an ambulance just to get me out of there,” says Leon.
The lack of security at the centre was also troubling and a few patients managed to escape to go buy drugs.
“At night, the gate between the men’s and women’s rooms was not locked, and one evening, one of the women went up to the men’s rooms and had sex with one of the patients.
“They found drugs in both rooms.
“They also treated the patients differently and if you were an account holder (meaning you paid for your own stay), you or your belongings were not searched,” says Marie.
The centre has now been shut down but it is unclear why as The Addie was unable to contact the Department of Social Development.
The patients who are now at home say they are struggling to get their money back.
“I managed to get R1 000 back, but they have been ignoring me since,” says Marie.
The patients say they feel betrayed by the owners and are upset by what happened.
“This is a rehab centre, we were there to get help,” says Marie.
Despite numerous calls and emails, the owners did not respond to the paper’s query.
*All names withheld to protect their identities.