Methadone clinic makes an impact

Subject: Methadone clinic makes an impact Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:40 am

This is an article from the Lethbridge Herald which is a Canadian paper but I thought the article was good enough to share with those of us in other countries as well. The original article can be found at http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/content/view/118280/110/

METHADONE CLINIC MAKES AN IMPACT

Written by Dave Mabell

Sunday, 22 November 2009

Four months later, there’s little doubt Lethbridge needed a methadone clinic.
Nearly 150 patients have taken part in the substance abuse program, its providers say — from teenagers to grandmothers.

“We have people of all ages,” says Allan Skretting, manager of the Northside Medical Clinic on 13 Street N.

Most are coming because they’ve become addicted to legal medications like OxyContin, Percocet, Dilaudid or Tylenol with codeine, he adds — not to street drugs like heroin. Patients are startled to find how easily they’ve become drug-dependent.

Maybe it’s because prescription abuse has become so common, affecting people from so many backgrounds, that Skretting says the Lethbridge clinic has created little stir in the community. People come and go, just as if they were doing their banking or browsing for antiques.
“It’s actually helped clean up the area,” he believes. “We haven’t had any negative comments since our first week.”

That’s opposite to the situation in Calgary, where a similar methadone clinic has been forced to relocate several times. While Lethbridge business people near the clinic say its location isn’t ideal, its operators have succeeded in minimizing any adverse impact.

“I think they’re doing a good job of keeping it under control,” says Dave Mereski, who operates a jewelry design and goldsmithing business next door. “I support what they’re doing for these people.”

Somewhere other than a retail zone would be better suited for the clinic, he suggests.
“But it’s been OK.”

Other business people interviewed in their shops, while not willing to be quoted, indicate the clinic hasn’t become a problem. One building owner says the growing number of street people seen in the area has become an issue — but that began long before the clinic opened.
In fact, Skretting says, the clinic has been helping people with addictions for many years. While the methadone treatments began this July, Northside Medical has been there for patients battling alcoholism and other addictions year after year. Skretting says Dr. Tom Melling — who retired from the clinic earlier this year after decades of service to north-side residents as well as Lethbridge cancer clinic patients — was one of the first in Lethbridge to offer addictions treatment.

“He was very supportive of people with addictions,” and encouraged other physicians to learn new approaches to their treatment.

The methadone clinic’s founder, addictions psychotherapist Bill Leslie, agreed to follow in Melling’s footsteps after opening similar clinics in Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Calgary.
Skretting is making arrangements for a new doctor to serve Melling’s patients, he says, but the clinic is already busy with addictions patient intake, counselling and treatment. As well, it now offers pharmacy service seven days a week.

With the methadone clinic operating every week, he says people who formerly drove to Calgary or Medicine Hat for treatment can turn their lives around much closer to home.

“We’re getting five to eight (new) calls a week,” Skretting reports, with probably an average of six people signing up for treatment after learning how the clinic operates.

About 135 patients are currently in the program, Skretting adds. Once accepted, they attend daily until they reach the next stage of their recovery.

“It’s very stringently monitored,” including frequent urine tests.

While the clinic has doctors specially trained on addictions issues, Skretting says, it also has substance abuse counsellors who meet regularly with clients. The clinic’s pharmacist is another key member of the methadone team.

But others in Lethbridge are also part of the clinic’s success, he adds. Southern Alberta health officials have been highly supportive, he notes, and Leslie has been met with positive responses when he’s spoken to service clubs and other local groups.

“People didn’t understand it’s these kinds of drugs that are involved,” says Skretting. “They were very surprised.”

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