Addictions services program staying in Pictou

There are currently no plans to remove an inpatient addictions services program from Pictou County, says the head of psychiatry, Northern Zone of the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

Dr. Theresa Vienneau said Friday the inpatient withdrawal management unit in Pictou is not moving to the Colchester Hospital, despite concerns expressed by Pictou town council.

“This is not correct information,” she said, adding that health services have been in a provincial planning process for more than year. “The services here in the northern zone, what we know is that there are no major structural changes.”

Pictou town council agreed to send a letter of support to the province about the inpatient unit in the town after a councillor said he was told there is some concern in the community that it may be moved to Colchester hospital.

Vienneau said the one change known is that there will be the addition of a withdrawal management outpatient clinic in Pictou County which will most likely operate out of the Aberdeen Hospital.

“It is a new service here in New Glasgow that will accommodate clients enrolled in the Truro program that live in the New Glasgow area,” she said. “They will now be able to get service here in New Glasgow.”

The new withdrawal management program, part of the province’s opioid program, will allow people currently enrolled or waiting on the waiting list for the Truro unit to have such a service closer to home, which will open up spaces in the Colchester area.

Vienneau said a date has not been set for the unit’s opening but she expects it is close.

Addiction services has been integrated with mental health which has improved service delivery, she said.

“People that require service often need assistance in both areas that we call mental health and addictions,” she said, adding that combining the services has helped streamline services for patients who no longer have to navigate through two different departments for help.

Vienneau said mental health and addictions in Northern Nova Scotia is facing staffing challenges with the departure of a psychiatrist at the end of 2017, but she assures residents that services are still available in the county.

“In Pictou County, we have availability for four full-time psychiatrists and, as of the end of this year, we will have 3.4 positions vacant,” she said.

Vienneau said she has been providing clinical services in the county for than 10 years and will continue to do so in a .6 position as she continues on in her administrative role.

She also stressed that services provided by the mental health and addictions crisis response team will continue on as well as a large program of social workers and psychologists in addition to the New Hope program that is staffed by registered nurses and supported by other mental health professionals.

“We know we are in a challenging situation and we know it causes distress when a community is losing a psychiatrist,” she said. “The important message here is that we still have a practising psychiatrist and we continue to recruit.”

As with any field in medicine, recruitment is a challenge in any rural area.

“Other parts of the province often are confronted with the same challenges,” she said.

Vienneau added that being part of the provincial health authority has allowed the conversation on recruitment to be expanded beyond county lines. She said there have been ongoing conversations with provincial team leaders in terms of exploring provincial approaches to fill the vacancies in terms of psychiatrics assisting here while recruitment continues.