ADDICTION SERVICES LOST UNDER CURRENT MODEL

Finally someone has the courage to talk publicly about the massive
failure that the Vancouver Island Health Authority has perpetrated on
addiction services throughout Vancouver Island. Unfortunately it had
to happen with the resignation of Dr. Anthony Barale.

I'm surprised it has taken this long for the health authority to
begin seeing its narrow-viewed approach to addiction services
failing. The authority's move to amalgamate addiction services with
mental health services marked the beginning of the end. Watered-down
addiction services, addiction specialists being replaced by
mental-health workers with little addiction training and the slow but
inevitable elimination of community prevention services are only a
few examples of the chaos that has been created.

More and more experienced people are leaving the health authority, as
I did four years ago, because it cares little about the people it is
supposed to be serving or its staff.

After 10 fulfilling years in addiction services I chose to leave
because the agency that I was working at, which had a 30-year history
in offering the community addiction services, was closed by the
health authority in favor of merging all out-patient addiction
services into one giant organization centred in the downtown core.

Addiction services, after being merged with mental health, has lost
its identity and focus. Look to our neighbouring provinces and you
will see addiction services delivered by a provincial agency with
concrete goals and necessary policy development divisions.

The solution is simple. Take addiction services out of the health
authority structure, redistribute money back to existing community
services and let them make the decisions that they know are right for
their community. VIHA is too busy dealing with its bottom line,
budget deficits and shuffling management staff to notice the distress
it's causing in the community.

Andre Serzisko,

Former VIHA employee,

Victoria.