Sun, sea &
Kiwis are searching out holiday hotspots as the perfect location to get treatment for drug addiction, writes John Weekes.
KIWIS are travelling overseas for drug rehab treatment, with better privacy, lower prices, and more flexible treatment options cited as reasons for jetting off.
On the island of Koh Chang, Thailand, near the Cambodian border, Dr Philip Townshend said about half the clients at DARA Rehab were Antipodeans.
People arrived seeking help for food, drugs, sex and alcohol addictions.
For Kiwi clients, methamphetamine was the most common issue, after alcohol.
The cost of rehab in New Zealand was a big factor in this kind of medical tourism, Townshend said.
‘‘It’s mainly a Government funding issue, frankly. New Zealand has very good out-patient services generally, but some people need to go to an in-patient programme. You can actually come here probably flying business, have a month’s treatment here, and fly home, and still have change from what it would cost you in New Zealand.’’
For some clients, the environment far from home offered a chance to get ‘‘a realistic break from drug use’’ away from temptation.
‘‘New Zealand’s a small country. Privacy is kind of something that existed in a different age. People who come here have lives, friends, often work, that is really focussed around their drug use, so a lot of changes need to take place.’’
Some clients had never had business in September.
The Ministry of Health said the Government had a significant focus on drug and alcohol treatment although waiting lists are issues for individual district health boards. Jill Lane, the ministry’s director of service commissioning, said 83 per cent of people were seen within three weeks and the Government has recently earmarked $8.7 million seized under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act to fund drug treatment and other healthrelated initiatives.
New Zealand Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell said waiting lists were the biggest barrier to better local drug treatment. ‘‘We really should be aiming for zero waiting lists, knowing what we know about drug addiction.’’
He said better funding reduced the long-term costs of crime, disorder and social dysfunction associated with drug abuse.
‘‘It creates a whole lot of chaos to the family and the wider community.’’
Johnny Dow, Higher Ground Drug Rehabilitation Trust director, said Kiwis should be wary of trying out some resortstyle rehab centres abroad.
He said DHBs and the Ministry of Health funded local public rehab programmes, which were generally excellent.
Dow said there’d always be some waiting lists, but there was room for improvement.
He said about 60-70 per cent of Higher Ground patients were trying to recover from meth addiction.
‘ You can fly business, have a month’s treatment and have change from what it would cost you in NZ.’ ‘ We really should be aiming for zero waiting lists, knowing what we know about drug addiction.’