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.