Private drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres need a new watchdog to protect patients from those selling “false hope”, legal academics say.

Many of the clinics have been the only option for those who can afford the fees because of the long waiting lists for public programs, they write in the Flinders Law Journal.

But some have been caught using fake patient testimonials, claiming “success rates” without evidence, as well as employing “peer workers”, personal trainers, yoga instructors or art therapists — rather than registered health professionals.

In one notorious case, a private Sydney clinic called Psych N’ Soul offered rapid opiate detoxification using naltrexone as a day procedure for a fee of about $5000.