Addictions treatment goes online, to phones

Doors closed for virus prevention

The COVID -19 pandemic is pushing Saskatchewan addictions and mental health treatment programs online — or forcing them to suspend their services entirely.

Treatment programs in the province are faced with the difficult choice of balancing two public health crises: a need for mental health and addictions treatment and the potential threat of an outbreak.

“We have an obligation to mitigate risk and exposure for our clients,” Métis Addictions Council of Saskatchewan Inc. (MACSI) executive director Ray Laliberte said in an interview. “But we’re trying to carry on business as usual.”

On Tuesday MACSI, which operates 53 addictions treatment beds in Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Regina, closed its doors to the public and said it will no longer take new patients in person.

Laliberte said the centres are focused on completing treatment for people who have already checked in and shifting to phone counselling. He said the change was difficult, but necessary to avoid a potential outbreak in an especially vulnerable population.

“The new priority is virtual counselling and working on providing services to the most vulnerable people in the province,” he said. “It’s a team effort.”

Many organizations said they’ve quickly managed to pivot to online services. Saskatoon Tribal Council said its health centre staff, for example, can take video or phone calls.

Pine Lodge Treatment Centre executive director Foster Monson said shifting to teleconferencing and phone operations became necessary after three of its counsellors — and he himself — had to self-isolate after contact with confirmed COVID-19 cases.

They intend to keep operating but he admits “there’s no comparing” the quality of service over the phone to the in-patient experience. Human contact between people in recovery is often key to success, he said. “Eighty per cent of recovery probably takes place as a result of interaction between people ... they give each other hope.”

Calder Centre, a youth and adult treatment centre run by the Saskatchewan Health Authority in Saskatoon, also said it would close its doors in a memo to staff.

“For clients with an upcoming admission date, our admissions co-ordinator will connect with their community worker to postpone,” it read. “These clients will be prioritized for admission once we resume regular programming.”

The memo said current clients will be allowed to complete their stay.

The list of “essential services” released by the province this week does not include mental health treatment or detoxification facilities. Premier Scott Moe cautioned the list would be regularly updated.

Dr. Peter Butt, an addictions specialist at the University of Saskatchewan, said many centres in the province are closing down or considering it.

“I think the expectation is that they’ll just go back to the client list and just start where they left off once they’re able to open again,” Butt said. “I think part of this is the anticipation of the need to redirect health care staff as the number of people affected by COVID increases.”

The new priority is virtual counselling and working on providing services to the most vulnerable people in the province