URGENT NEED FOR DETOX CENTRE

One would assume that finding a substance user laying dead outside the
library is a compelling enough case in itself for a detoxification centre
in Medicine Hat.

But nearly two years after the now-fired Palliser Health Region board
began pressing the Alberta government for funding to establish an urgently
needed detox centre in the local hospital, Palliser remains the only
health region in the province without treatment detox beds.

The consequences are immense. Intoxicated individuals are held in remand
cells for lack of a better place, sometimes slipping into life-threatening
seizures. Substance users occupy the limited number of hospital beds
intended for other patients, while staff who are not trained in treating
addictions struggle with an ever-increasing workload.

The government's response to the situation has been astonishing, to say
the least. Rather than assume responsibility for not funding a detox
centre in an expanded Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, Alberta Health and
Wellness is simply passing the buck.

"Within their Capital Plan 2008, Palliser Health Region has not asked for
any capital funding to support the development of a detox centre or an
inpatient addictions-substance abuse unit," a department spokesperson said
in a recent statement.

However, when Palliser's communications staff are questioned on the
absence of a funding request in the health region's capital budget, they
defer comment to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) - a
government agency that reports directly to the minister of health and
wellness.

Apparently AADAC, which is essentially a puppet of the government, is
responsible for asking the province to fund a detox facility. But
considering that Alberta's health-care system is projected to be $1.3
billion in the red by March 31, AADAC's status as a detox centre advocate
is in serious doubt.

Like the man who met his demise on the streets of Medicine Hat, the detox
centre proposal unfortunately appears destined for a silent death.