Alberta to regulate addiction treatment centres, practitioners

EDMONTON The province is preparing to regulate addiction treatment facilities and launch a college to oversee professionals who call themselves counsellors and therapists.

Legislation tabled Tuesday aims to ensure safe, competent care for Albertans searching for a therapist or addiction treatment centre, said Health Minister Sarah Hoffman.

Currently, there are no minimum standards for treatment centres, leading to about 35 complaints since 2012, according to the province. Complaints ranged from being unable to collect a refund to poor quality of care.

The changes will apply to mental health facilities aiming to treat conditions such as alcoholism, drug addiction and eating disorders.

Programs including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous won’t be affected.

The province said 65 per cent of clinical facilities in the province are privately operated, with about 5,000 unregulated practitioners who provide services. The new rules would initially apply to about 60 public and private residential addiction treatment facilities.

If passed, facilities will be able to apply for a four-year licence on July 1, and will need to have one in place by Nov. 1, 2019. Licensed facilities will then be posted on a government website.

The move will force treatment programs to follow rules such as reporting critical incidents, creating informed consent policies and maintaining appropriate records.

Inspectors will be able to enforce standards by issuing stop orders and administrative penalties up to $10,000 per day. Courtordered fines will be limited to up to $100,000 per day.

The Mental Health Services Protection Act would also launch a new self-funded regulatory college dubbed the College of Counselling Therapy.

That body could then determine everything from the scope of practice to treatment centre prices to the basic requirements needed to get a professional licence.

Professional titles will also be protected, and those who don’t have the appropriate credentials could be fined. This will apply to counselling therapists, addiction counsellors, drug and alcohol counsellors, and child and youth care counsellors.