Pubdate: Fri, 17 Feb 2017
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2017 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Sarah Petrescu
Page: A5
Referenced: http://mapinc.org/url/kfK1Ugz2

FACED WITH LENGTHY WAITS, ADDICTS SEEK HELP IN NANAIMO

Non-profit group takes Victoria patients to get same-day methadone
prescriptions

A Victoria non-profit group has started a service to drive people to
Nanaimo to get methadone and suboxone prescriptions because the wait
time to see a doctor is much shorter.

"A lot of clients would say: 'I can't see a doctor for weeks.' So when
this new clinic opened in Nanaimo and said they were taking clients,
we saw an opportunity," said Lucy Hagos, operations manager at the
Daily Dose Society, which operates the Wheels for Recovery program.

Methadone and suboxone are the two main drugs used to treat people who
are addicted to opioids.

Last week, the Times Colonist wrote about the Antrobus family who said
they were forced to help their daughter buy street methadone because
the wait time to see a doctor for a prescription was two weeks to a
month.

There are two clinics in Victoria that specialize in addictions
treatment, with doctors who have federal approval to prescribe
methadone. But it is unclear how many doctors in the city have this
training, something the Antrobus family said is a concern in the midst
of an overdose crisis that has claimed more than 950 lives in B.C.
since 2015.

"We definitely get a lot of traffic and interest by word of mouth,"
said Hagos, adding this shows where the needs are.

The Daily Dose formed as nonprofit a few months ago from a group of
volunteers who issue a thrice-weekly newsletter for those struggling
with addictions and homelessness.

It was started by Sandra Angus-Vincent and clients of STS Pain
Pharmacy, an addictions pharmacy operated by Angus-Vincent's partner
at 820 Cormorant St. The Daily Dose has a space at the back of the
pharmacy.

"She was already offering a lot of the services, driving clients to
appointments and the hospital," Hagos said. "So when we envisioned
becoming a society, we realized this was a service we provided already."

That's how Wheels for Recovery formed. Once a week, Angus-Vincent
drives up to eight people to the Trew Beginnings Clinic in Nanaimo for
same-day prescriptions. Hagos said they will make extra trips in an
emergency.

It is one of several free services at the Daily Dose, which operates
through donations. Others include housing referrals, work and
volunteer assistance, storage for personal belongings and initiatives
like a recent drive to make blankets from hundreds of mattress covers
donated by the Fairmont Empress Hotel to be distributed to homeless
people.

Trevor Smith has been a client at the pharmacy and the Daily Dose for
more than a year. He said the unique atmosphere and range of services
helped him become more stable than in any other methadone program.

"It's the first place to treat me like an opportunity, a person to be
validated, not just a number to make a profit," Smith said. "When I
first got here I was probably 50 pounds lighter … and a bit hopeless.
Now I look forward to coming every day."

Smith said the community atmosphere and services such as phones and
computer access and Wheels for Recovery should be a model for other
addictions pharmacies and programs.

Amanda Visona, another regular client, agreed and said there needs to
be more treatment options for people struggling with drug addictions
and housing.

She said Angus-Vincent helped her get in to see a doctor to get on a
methadone program and now that she's stable and not using drugs, she
wants to get on with her life. "I want to get housing and get a job."

Navigating the system of addictions and social services can be
daunting for clients and families. On Thursday, the Centre for
Addictions Research B.C. at the University of Victoria released the
43-page handbook, Patients Helping Patients Understand Opioid
Substitution Treatment.

The book is the product of meetings between governments, health
officials, addictions advocates and users. It was co-written by opioid
substitution patients, said centre assistant director Dan Reist. "This
provides patients with a human voice to the problem," he said.

The handbook is available online and 5,000 print copies are on order
to be distributed to clinics and pharmacies specializing in addictions
treatments.
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MAP posted-by: Matt