ADDICTS DILUTE CARE FOR MENTALLY ILL

Re: "Attack heroin addiction through compulsory detox," Nov 27, subsequent
letters, and the editorial, "A mentality of entitlement," Nov 30.

David Staples' ideas are timely. Alberta has enacted compulsory
treatment for teen drug addicts, and Saskatchewan is following suit.
Our provincial government and the Vancouver Island Health Authority
have chosen to hide the addiction problem under the umbrella of mental
health. This was done without consulting members of the department of
psychiatry or other front-line mental-health professionals, who are
now expected to deal with addicts when treatment facilities are
insufficient.

This dilutes the care available to the mentally ill, and is a
disservice to those suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar mood
disorder and serious depression. The majority of persons I see on call
in the Archie Courtnall Psychiatric Emergency Centre are under the
influence of cocaine or crystal meth, consuming time we should be
spending on those with an acute mental illness and for whom, I
believe, the centre was originally envisaged.

Government must establish, fund, and staff enough separate
detoxification and rehabilitation centres for primary substance
abusers, and enact compulsory treatment.

We cannot afford to let this problem escalate. Addiction services and
mental health services are being short-changed, and mental-health
staff should be allowed to do the job for which they were trained and
which they wish to follow.

A.B. Masters, MD, consultant psychiatrist

Victoria Mental Health Centre