NUMBER OF ADDICTS SKYROCKETS IN ONTARIO

Treatment agencies struggling to keep up, government report says

TORONTO -- The number of people needing help for addictions has jumped
dramatically in recent years, leaving treatment agencies struggling to keep
up, says a newly released Ontario government report.

The problems they're seeing are also more complex, says the Ministry of
Health study.

And more youth, elderly people, women, aboriginals, HIV patients and ethnic
minorities are seeking help.

The growing demand has resulted in long waiting lists, the study concludes.

It calls for merging the patchwork of organizations into a smaller number of
centres, modernizing treatment methods and better targeting the needs of
specific groups like older people and aboriginals.

It also suggests making methadone treatment and needle-exchange programs
available to drug addicts across Ontario.

"Addiction treatment services are facing unprecedented pressures," says the
55-page report, called Setting the Course. "Faced with all these pressures,
Ontario's small, single-focus programs are hard-pressed to keep pace. ...
Agencies are struggling to meet these demands."

The report, designed as a blueprint for changing the system, has been
distributed to agencies and the province's district health councils.

They'll report back with local reaction before the province goes ahead with
the overhaul, said Barry Wilson, a spokesman for Health Minister Elizabeth
Witmer.

The government won't decide whether to increase spending on drug and alcohol
treatment beyond the current $117 million until it hears from the
organizations, he said.

According to the report, agencies treated more than 75,000 people for drug
and alcohol addictions in 1991-92, the most recent year for which figures
are available. That's more than triple the 29,000 who were helped in
1979-80.

It doesn't indicate any reasons for the increase.

The problems have also become more complex. Agencies that used to deal
chiefly with alcoholism now have to treat addiction to prescription drugs,
illegal drugs, solvents and gambling, the report says.

But there's often little co-ordination between agencies now, meaning that
addicts have to go from door to door to find the treatment they need.

They also undergo frequent, lengthy assessments at the various agencies.

"Some clients have the sense that they are continually being assessed, but
never helped," says the document. "Many become frustrated and discouraged
and stop knocking (on doors)."

About 10 per cent of adults over 55 have a drug abuse problem and up to 12
per cent have an alcohol problem, it says. Aging-related changes to the body
make them more sensitive to the effects of substances, it says.

The study recommends fewer and less exhaustive assessments of addicts.

It also urges several improvements to the way abuse problems are treated,
including more use of programs that reduce the harm from addictions, but
don't actually get people off drugs.

For instance, it says needle-exchange programs should be available
everywhere in the province.

The report also notes that a large percentage of people with acquired brain
injuries have substance abuse histories, since alcohol and drugs are a
factor in many of the accidents leading to brain injury.

It recommends a network of regional bodies to manage and co-ordinate
treatment agencies, and mergers among individual organizations where
possible.