Pubdate: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 Source: Medicine Hat News (CN AB) Copyright: 2009 Alberta Newspaper Group, Inc. Contact: http://www.medicinehatnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1833 Author: Ken Gousseau URGENT NEED FOR DETOX CENTRE One would assume that finding a substance user laying dead outside the library is a compelling enough case in itself for a detoxification centre in Medicine Hat. But nearly two years after the now-fired Palliser Health Region board began pressing the Alberta government for funding to establish an urgently needed detox centre in the local hospital, Palliser remains the only health region in the province without treatment detox beds. The consequences are immense. Intoxicated individuals are held in remand cells for lack of a better place, sometimes slipping into life-threatening seizures. Substance users occupy the limited number of hospital beds intended for other patients, while staff who are not trained in treating addictions struggle with an ever-increasing workload. The government's response to the situation has been astonishing, to say the least. Rather than assume responsibility for not funding a detox centre in an expanded Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, Alberta Health and Wellness is simply passing the buck. "Within their Capital Plan 2008, Palliser Health Region has not asked for any capital funding to support the development of a detox centre or an inpatient addictions-substance abuse unit," a department spokesperson said in a recent statement. However, when Palliser's communications staff are questioned on the absence of a funding request in the health region's capital budget, they defer comment to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) - a government agency that reports directly to the minister of health and wellness. Apparently AADAC, which is essentially a puppet of the government, is responsible for asking the province to fund a detox facility. But considering that Alberta's health-care system is projected to be $1.3 billion in the red by March 31, AADAC's status as a detox centre advocate is in serious doubt. Like the man who met his demise on the streets of Medicine Hat, the detox centre proposal unfortunately appears destined for a silent death. - --- MAP posted-by: Doug