KEEP DETOX CENTRE OPEN

The temporary closing of the detox centre associated with Grand River
Hospital in Kitchener should be of great concern to Waterloo Region's
residents and political leaders. This closing is unacceptable.

Of course, there are financial reasons to explain the centre's decision to
shut its doors during July and August. There is a $76,000 difference
between the centre's revenues and its expenses. Although the detox centre
is based on its own budget, it is interesting to note that the amount it
needs is only a fraction of the hospital's total base budget, which hovers
around the $150-million mark.

Financial arguments, however, will mean little to a person with a severe
alcohol or drug problem when the centre is closed. Furthermore, they will
mean little to people such as police officers, doctors and social workers
who are trying to help those who have an alcohol or drug problem.

Significantly, Carolyne Hooper, Grand River's corporate director of
psychiatric and mental health programs, has said that provincial funding
for the program hasn't increased in the past six years. Costs, however, are
not subject to the same freeze.

The detox building isn't just a Kitchener facility or even a Waterloo
Region facility. It also serves residents of Wellington and Dufferin counties.

One wonders in taking this drastic action if the detox centre is trying to
send a message to Queen's Park that goes beyond the immediate financial
crisis. The centre's budget clearly needs a fundamental review.

To be fair, it should be stressed that Grand River's emergency ward will be
able to refer people who would normally go to the detox centre to centres
in Hamilton, London or Brampton. This is assuming that people in need of
assistance would go to the emergency ward if they know the local detox
centre is closed.

In the absence of a better solution, regional police may be inclined during
the summer to put people with problems in cells for a few hours. This, too,
is unacceptable. Alcohol abuse and drug overdoses are medical, not
criminal, problems.