 It
seems as if all the news from the Atlantic provinces these
days is about the alarming rise in drug addiction. What
we hear less about is what the governments are, or are
not, doing about the problem. The Miramichi region of
New Brunswick is a case in point. Lately residents there
have seen exactly where the provincial government's priorities
lie, and it turns out that the political will to fund
addiction services is weak at best.
People in the Miramichi region are not known to take things
lying down and, true to form, four local docs decided
to take action. Drs Linda Hudson, Camille Haddad, Jeffrey
Hans and Bill Martin realized that when plans for a hospital-sponsored
methadone clinic were shelved, the best thing to do was
distance themselves from the local health authority's
squabbles with Health and Wellness Minister Elvy Robichaud,
and set up shop on their own.
TIT
FOR TAT
Shortly after the doctors announced their plans to open
an independent methadone clinic -- to be called the
Miramichi Addictions Recovery Clinic -- the government
found a spare $1.5 million for addiction services over
the next four years. Mr Robichaud's plan, made public
on June 9, includes new money for a methadone program
for four clinics -- in Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton
and eventually one in Miramichi in a year or two.
The doctors were left scratching their heads after this
budgetary about-face. "I don't know how the government
prioritizes these things, but up until a month ago,
they apparently couldn't afford any methadone treatment
programs at all," says one of the four, Dr Bill
Martin. In the months leading up to the doctors' announcement,
Mr Robichaud repeatedly said in the Legislature that
a provincially funded methadone treatment program would
cost between $4 and 6 million -- money that just wasn't
available.
Regardless of the new funding, the doctors say the Miramichi
region can't wait two years to treat this growing problem.
Their clinic will be up and running by the end of June,
without any funding from the government or regional
health authority.
GONE
FISHING
Miramichi, a sparsely populated area in eastern New
Brunswick immortalized by local scribe David Adams Richards,
has always been famous for its great salmon rivers.
But recently the region, which struggles with high seasonal
unemployment (21%), has been cultivating a less desirable
reputation as a veritable opium den. Dr Martin has seen
plenty of evidence of this trend during his shifts at
the Miramichi Hospital's emergency department. Out of
a population of about 50,000 people, an estimated 1,000
Miramichiers are addicted to opioids, resulting in approximately
20 drug-related visits a week to the emergency department,
says Dr Martin.
DETOX
THE PROBLEM
The doctors' methadone treatment program is a truly
solo effort. There were originally plans to run the
program in conjunction with the Miramichi Regional Health
Authority. But then Minister Robichaud sent them a letter
on May 20 strongly warning against any involvement on
the part of the health authority with the proposed clinic
until provincial funding came through. "Our involvement
will be minimal," says Health Authority spokesperson
Sonya Green-Haché. "We will, of course,
give referrals to them, and we have addiction and counselling
services, but we cannot offer them any staffing or funding."
Again, the docs stepped into the breach. They've managed
to come up with the money to run the clinic through
local private donations, as well from the other stakeholders,
Indian Affairs and the RCMP. The Rotary Trust Fund,
whose members endorse the project, will be used to channel
funds into the program; eventually community fundraising
will finance the clinic. There will be one salaried
clerical position; nursing and counselling services
will receive donations in kind. "It's in an unused
office owned by the hospital," says Dr Linda Hudson,
the acknowledged ringleader of the project. "All
we need to cover is the monthly rent and the cost of
running computers and phones."
CHARITY AT HOME
Coming up with ways to get around the seemingly perpetual
healthcare funding crisis is nothing new to Miramichiers.
In the past ten years, the community has raised over
$2.9 million dollars for much-needed hospital equipment.
On June 9, thousands from Miramichi were part of the
protest in Fredericton against the Conservative government's
cuts to healthcare. Self-confessed rabble-rouser Dr
Martin was among them. "It went well," he
says. "We weren't pleased because we can ill afford
these cuts. I think we made our point."
Dr Hudson says the whole experience has left an impression
on the doctors and the community. "The history
of promises fulfilled is not there with this government,"
she says. "I'm concerned with the mentality that
goes into this. We want to negotiate, but it seems that
all the groundwork we've put into this is not being
appreciated. It's frustrating."
But there are certainly many who do appreciate their
efforts. "It just shows their dedication,"
enthuses Ms Green-Haché of the Health Authority.
"The community is lucky to have people like them,
who care this much."
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