Province Remains Vigilant in Ensuring Responsive Addictions Programs

Health and Community Services
October 24, 2007

Province Remains Vigilant in Ensuring Responsive Addictions Programs

Ensuring quality addictions services that best meet the needs of residents is an ongoing process and a priority of the Provincial Government, noted the Honourable Ross Wiseman, Minister of Health and Community Services, as he outlined today his department�s sustained commitment to ensuring current addictions treatment programs for youth are meeting the needs of young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

"Our government has seen the negative impacts that addictions have on individuals and families and we are committed to investing in prevention and treatment for persons struggling with addictions, including youth," said Minister Wiseman. "The strength of our commitment is reflected in our investments over the last four years, with increased funding of $11.9 million earmarked for substantially enhanced mental health and addictions services, with particular attention to improved services for adolescents."

Significant developments in the improvement of services for youth include the placement of additional adolescent addictions counsellors across the province; the establishment of an adolescent day treatment program; the creation of an annual advertising campaign Get Up On It to promote awareness of the dangers of drugs and alcohol among youth; and the establishment of prevention coordinators to focus on the prevention of youth substance abuse.

"We are remaining vigilant in our fight against addictions and working to ensure that the programs we have in place are responsive and best suited to the needs of our population," said Minister Wiseman. "The Oxycontin Task Force Report issued in 2005 was an important piece of work that helped shape our existing addictions programs and define our path in developing new initiatives, while also providing specific recommendations for addictions services for youth."

The task force report provided a thorough assessment of provincial addictions services. It recommended, based on best practices research, that services for adolescents should start at the least intrusive end of the treatment continuum, which includes group counselling, one-on-one counselling, and day treatment, all of which are provided in the province and are facilitated through the regional health authorities and 25 addictions offices. The task force also recommended the continuation of out-of-province referrals for residential treatment programs for youth.

"We now want to assess whether or not the situation has changed since the release of the task force report," said Minister Wiseman. "This will help us determine if our current programs are best meeting the needs of our youth. We are working to complete this assessment in a timely manner and it will take into account information contained in the 2007 Atlantic Student Drug Use Survey which is expected to be released in November and will give us very important data on the substance use patterns of our adolescents. This survey, combined with our assessment of addictions services for youth, will provide a composite picture of where we are and where we may need to go from here."

The Student Drug Use Survey in the Atlantic Provinces is a collaborative initiative of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Dalhousie University. The survey provides representative information about adolescent students with a focus on substance use, gambling and related behaviours.

"The recent stories of families with adolescents who are battling drug addictions certainly highlight the devastating consequences that addictions can have on the lives of not just those addicted, but also their loved ones," added Minister Wiseman. "I want to assure families and individuals impacted by addictions that our government is working to ensure our treatment programs provide the best care for those who need it most."

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Media contact:
Glenda Power
Director of Communications
Department of Health and Community Services
709-729-1377, 685-1741
glendapower@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Highlights of Provincial Addictions Services Enhancements

Over the past four years, the Provincial Government has increased funding for mental health and addictions by $11.9 million, resulting in enhanced prevention strategies and treatment programs for addictions, including the following:

The creation of an adolescent day treatment program;
The addition of 34 new positions in addictions services, including addictions counsellors, prevention coordinators and nurses;
The launch of public awareness campaigns to target addictions including Get Up on It, an annual campaign educating youth about the risks associated with gambling and substance abuse, and a television advertising campaign aimed at educating the public about the risks associated with problem gambling, particularly related to VLT use;
Investment for the construction of a new facility for the Humberwood Provincial Addictions Treatment Centre in Corner Brook which offers complete rehabilitative services to adult residents of the province requiring in-patient treatment;
The establishment of a methadone maintenance program to treat clients suffering from opiate addictions;
The enhancement of detox services at the Recovery Centre in Pleasantville to include a medical component;
Funding for the AIDS Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador (ACNL) for the SWAP (Safe Works Access Program) needle exchange program, ACNL nursing clinic services and the Reaching Injection Drug Users project;
Support for Street Reach, a one-of-a-kind outreach service which targets at-risk youth and is sponsored by the Community Youth Network, in partnership with numerous community agencies;
Funding for Recovering Addicts Fellowship Team (RAFT), a grassroots addictions organization;
Funding to complete the Atlantic Student Drug Use Survey;
Funding for the Health, Education and Enforcement in Partnership (HEP) project � a project that involves coordination of health, education and enforcement personnel throughout the province to support the development of stronger partnerships to address addiction issues;
Training for primary care physicians and other providers to screen and identify problem gambling;
Competency-based training for provincial addictions counsellors;
Completion of a provincial gambling prevalence study;
Funding for gambling-related research.

2007 10 24 12:10 p.m.

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