Province seeking 50 new beds for those with meth, opioid, alcohol addictions

Fiftynew beds to help people with drugand alcoholaddictions are coming to Saskatchewanwith the aim of reducing relapses, according to theSaskatchewan HealthAuthority.

The beds will fill the gapafter a person finishes detox but doesn't yet have a spot in residential treatment,said an SHA news release.They are specifically meant for people who do not have stable or safe housing during that time or once they're done treatment.

Investing inpeople who need help during these times issignificant, saidDr. Peter Butt, a leading addictions specialist in Saskatchewan.

"It's a high-relapse period of time. We lose many, many people," Butt said on CBCRadio'sSaskatoon Morning.

Butt said the new beds, where people will be able todeal with triggers and core issues,are a much better alternative thancouch-surfing at crack houses or living on the streets.

A request for proposals, open to the private and public sectors, will closeat the end of the month. The health authority says the goal is to have the beds operational this winter.

Butt said the only comparable service offered now is when rehabs leave beds open for people a few extra weeks after their initial treatment.

"But that's not the norm. So there are a lot of people who go through detox and they're sent back out on the streets waiting for the treatment bed," Butt said.

Speaking to CBC on Monday, Health Minister Jim Reiter saidthe province is seeing more of a demand related totwo types ofdrugs.

"Crystal meth has become a huge problem in the province over a number of years. Opioids, of course, is a problem right across the country."

Reitersaid the new beds are a part of an investment into addictions treatment announced in the provincial budget this spring.

"It's an issue that all provinces are grappling with as this problem becomes more prevalent. I think, though, you're going to see us make this a priority in the upcoming years as well."

Butt is critical of the short durationof all steps of detox, rehab and these new beds. All told, itwould top out at several months, even thoughit takes 12 months to consider someone as being in "sustained remission."

"If we compare this to cancer, we don't stop part way and say, 'That's enough, that's good enough,' even though the evidence suggests it should be more, and turn people lose to deal with their cancer on their own," he said.

If the province is serious about recovery, there should be supports the whole way through those first 12 months of the addiction recovery journey, he said.

When the government announced the treatment beds in March, finance critic Trent Wotherspoonsaid longer rehab and treatment are what's needed, particularly with crystal meth.