Pubdate: Sat, 31 Jan 2009 Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 Times Colonist Contact: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481 Author: Joanne Hatherly Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) ADDITIONAL DETOX BEDS TO CUT WAITS Newly Renovated Unit Doubles Capacity; Homeless Could Benefit Wait times to get into medical detox could be reduced by as much as two-thirds with the more than doubling of beds in Victoria's drug-treatment centres, a Victoria doctor says. Dr. Laurence Bosley, who directs addiction services for the Vancouver Island Health Authority, was one of a host of dignitaries who officially opened the newly renovated community medical detox unit at the Eric Martin Pavilion yesterday. The unit will receive 14 new beds, while another seven post-detox "stabilization" beds will be opened at the Pembroke Street Withdrawal Management Services Unit, where patients can stay for longer periods. The new beds will increase the number of detox beds in Victoria to 38 from 17. Opening of the detox beds is expected to help address concerns about the homeless. According to the Mayor's Task Force on Homelessness, more than half of those living on the streets in Victoria are drug or alcohol abusers and 40 per cent are mentally ill, a total of almost 800 people. When the new Eric Martin facility starts taking patients in February, it could cut the six-week wait time to one to two weeks, Bosley said. The unit will provide medical support in the first five to 10 days of recovery from alcohol or drug addiction, after which patients would move to other treatment programs tailored to their circumstances and needs. Even as many people praised the expansion of drug and alcohol treatment, some raised questions about the facility's non-smoking policy. In 2005, the VIHA youth detox centre run by the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society prohibited smoking on the premises to comply with federal law and local clean-air bylaws, a move that caused patient numbers to plummet. The five-bed unit normally had a waiting list, but when the non-smoking regulation came in, there were empty beds, and the completion rate among those who entered the program dropped to half from 75 per cent. Gordon Harper, executive director for the Umbrella Society, an addiction recovery and mental health support society, wants to see the restriction eased. "We all know that drug dealers hang around these places. If you tell addicts they have to go outside to smoke, that is just not the thing to do. It can upset the whole apple cart." Bosley called the smoking problem a conundrum but noted nicotine patches would be available to patients. "It is a conundrum where we deal between the competing values of having a comfortable environment or a safe, healthy environment." Philippe Lucas, Victoria city councilor and graduate research fellow with the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C., said the no-smoking rule can be a significant barrier to substance-abusers, who are often addicted to nicotine. "My concern is the additional stress it brings on an individual to quit tobacco while they're trying to detox from other substances," Lucas said. "Obviously, detox is not there for the purpose of helping people to quit smoking." The new detox beds cost $1.75 million to set up. The Victoria Hospitals Foundation donated $60,000 from an estate gift to furnish and outfit the Eric Martin unit. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin