“Father of detox” Jaroslav Skála began helping people sober up in Prague 75 years ago
When psychiatrist Jaroslav Skála opened the world’s first medically supervised sobering-up station, he wanted to help intoxicated people rather than punish them. Although his idea revolutionised immediate care for intoxicated people, sobering-up stations are now in decline.
Psychiatrist Jaroslav Skála first founded an alcohol treatment clinic in 1948. But he soon became concerned about intoxicated people left helpless on the streets after heavy drinking. That inspired him to establish a special facility where they could sober up safely and later be offered treatment if needed.
The first sobering-up station opened on May 15, 1951, at Prague’s Apolinář Hospital. According to some sources, it was the first professional institution of its kind in the world.
“Jaroslav Skála was inspired by the United States, and although similar concepts had existed before, his station was different. It provided medical care instead of functioning as a repressive institution where intoxicated people were watched over by police officers rather than doctors. That was the unique aspect of Skála’s concept,” explains addiction specialist Peter Popov.
Help in form of a strict daily routine
Unlike much of society at the time, he did not condemn alcoholics, but tried to help them. At Apolinář Hospital, Skála would wake up early with his patients, exercise with them, take them outdoors for cold-water therapy, and involve them in a strict daily routine. He also organised therapeutic trips into nature.
“I am an enemy of alcoholism, but I quite like alcoholics. If I didn’t like them, I couldn’t have worked with them for twenty years. I like those who want to get rid of the addiction. Unlike people who either pity them or criticize them, I take a third approach — I want to help them, if they want help,” Skála said in a 1967 interview for Czech Radio.
One unusual feature of the Apolinář station was that newly admitted intoxicated patients were partly cared for by other patients recovering from alcoholism. The idea was to help them understand what their own behaviour had once looked like to family and friends.
The station also became known for its colourful mix of patients. Skála once joked that plumbers formed the largest professional group staying there, closely followed by writers of children’s poetry. Some moments were unintentionally comic – relatives would sometimes bring bottles of alcohol as gifts for the staff.
Night in a sobering-up station for 3,000 crowns
Sobering-up stations reached their peak in the early 1980s, when 63 facilities operated across Czechoslovakia. Today, only 18 remain in Czechia.
According to Peter Popov, however, the decline does not mean alcoholism has disappeared. Instead, it reflects a funding problem.
“The issue is that sobering-up stations are not considered healthcare facilities financed by health insurance companies. Patients usually have to pay for their stay themselves, which many cannot afford. Municipalities were often unwilling to subsidise the costs, so many stations gradually disappeared.”
Today, a night in a Czech sobering-up station typically costs between 1,200 and 3,000 Czech crowns, depending on the region. Experts estimate that at least 300,000 people in Czechia suffer from alcohol addiction. Around six percent of adults consume alcohol daily, while another 16 percent drink several times a week.
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