Wait times for opioid treatment drop quickly, says health authority
Credit given to provincial investment in staff and programs
There has been a big reduction in wait times for the treatment of opioid addiction, according to the Nova Scotia Health Authority,
A year ago, people in some parts of the province had to wait up to six months to get into a program.
Now, in the eastern zone, which includes Cape Breton and Antigonish, the wait is about a week. It's even less in the Halifax area, where waiting times have been almost eliminated.
"We have seen a significant drop in terms of our waits for people living with an opioid use disorder in a very very short period of time," said Samantha Hodder, the health authority's senior director of mental health and addictions.
Solid investment
She credited an investment by the province last November of $800,000 for added staff and expanded programs.
Hodder said the system has been improved so that people are "better matched" to the treatment that is best suited for their recovery.
In the Halifax area, she said that system now includes primary caregivers, such as doctors, who are able to treat people for opioid addiction in their offices once those people have been "stabilized." That frees up treatment spaces for patients with more "complex" needs, she said.
In Sydney, Christine Porter, the executive director of the Ally Centre of Cape Breton, said there's been a definite reduction in wait times, but she still believes some people are waiting a few weeks.
She said a rapid-access program, allowing people to quickly get on opioid treatment drugs such as methadone, has been a welcome improvement.