Pubdate: Wed, 01 Mar 2006
Source: Caledonia Courier (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Fort Saint James Courier
Contact:  http://www.caledoniacourier.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3189
Author: Chris Shepherd

DETOX NEEDED FOR FSJ, SAY DRUG HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Health care providers in Fort St. James want detox beds added to the 
local hospital so they won't have to drive people to Prince George themselves.

The Community Wellness Working Group wrote a letter to Janet James 
from Northern Health asking for two detoxification beds for Stuart 
Lake Hospital.

The group hasn't heard back from Northern Health yet.

"I would say there's a definite need (for detox beds)," says Ray 
Bertrand, a drug and alcohol counsellor and chair of the wellness 
group. "The nearest detox centre is in Prince George and sometimes 
there's a waiting list."

The waiting list, combined with the hour and a half trip to Prince 
George, means the people who need detox, don't get it when they need it.

"There's a window of opportunity that needs to be capitalized," Bertrand says.

Detox beds make the process of coming off alcohol or drugs safe, Bertrand says.

Withdrawal symptoms can be fatal, Bertrand says, and medication may 
be needed to get the person off the drug safely.

For people in Fort St. James, the trip to the Adult Withdrawal Unit 
in Prince George can be dangerous.

Bertrand recently had a client try to grab the steering wheel while 
driving them to detox.

The client didn't know what he was doing, but the situation was dangerous.

"It's a bit scary," agrees Dawn Agno, a wellness worker at the 
Nak'azdli Health Centre and the woman who wrote the letter to Northern Health.

Agno says there are enough people in the area to make sure the detox 
beds stay busy.

Bertrand says people like himself or Agno end up driving people 
because family are unwilling or unable, and the B.C. Ambulance 
Service won't take people to the Adult Withdrawal Unit.

Shawna Cadieux, a B.C. Ambulance Service spokesperson, says they 
don't consider detox a health facility, and the ambulances provide 
medical transportation.

There are exceptions, she says. "We do transport folks from Fort St. 
James to Prince George to detox if a doctor does deem it medically necessary."

Dennis Cleaver, regional director of mental health and addictions 
services for Northern Health, says a detox plan is in the works for 
the Lakes District, which includes Fraser Lake, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James.

Bringing detox to the area isn't a simple matter of adding more beds, 
says Rick Gremm, former manager of rural development for mental 
health and addiction services.

"We need to develop services to manage people with different 
behaviours," Gremm says.

Rooms that can be locked, access to psychiatric care, and other 
support programs are needed to help the person after the drugs or 
alcohol are out of the person's system.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman