Fraser Health has announced it is putting a clinic in Burnaby and five other cities in the region to provide access for first-line treatment for opioid addictions.
The clinics will be open in September and October and provide medications like Suboxone and methadone. Fraser Health also said it will be putting a new program that allows people to begin taking the medications when visiting some emergency departments.
“People with opioid addiction are able to stabilize and get their lives back on track with medications like Suboxone and methadone, which are key treatments in our battle against the terrible toll overdoses are taking on our communities throughout B.C.,” said Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy in a Fraser Health press release. “We have been working with health authorities and the B.C. Centre on Substance Use to make these important medications more widely available so that people can start getting the help they need.”
Fraser Health said the evidence shows prescribing those medications stabilizes opioid addicts and helps them recover. Plans call for emergency departments to begin treatment with Suboxone in hospital and then refer opiod addicts for treatment.
“We want to ensure people have access to treatment options quickly and conveniently by expanding access to medications like Suboxone and methadone for people who are ready to address their addiction,” said Fraser Health chief medical health officer Dr. Victoria Lee in the release. “By opening new clinics and connecting people to treatment while they are still in the emergency department, we can initiate treatment sooner and help them begin the road to recovery.”
A Fraser Health spokeswoman said it can’t say where the Burnaby clinic will be because it is still finalizing the locations for all of the clinics. She also said Fraser Health will phase in the introduction of its emergency department program focusing on hospitals with clinics in the same communities.
The other cities to receive clinics are Maple Ridge, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Mission and Langley.
- Grant Granger
