Lack of proper detox services a real problem for Wexford
Wexford councillor Davy Hynes, an addiction counsellor with the ‘It’s Good to Talk’ counselling service said the war on drugs was not working and the situation was compounded because of the lack of proper detox services in the county.
Cllr Hynes said things had got a lot worse since the Recession, with cutbacks meaning that people in need to detox services often can’t find them.
‘We have Aiseiri, but then you need detox before you go there,’ said Cllr Hynes, ‘detox is the first step for someone who can’t get off drugs through counselling.
‘We have home detox, but a lot of people fall through the net and treating people in the community is fine, but that doesn’t meet the needs of some people.. what we have to face up to the fact that the war on drugs is not working and we need to look at other methods.
‘We need residential detox, but that’s been talked about for years and the pressure that came on services as a result of the Recession just made things worse.’
‘Treating people in the community is fine, but unfortunately a family who brings a son or daughter to Wexford hospital is then referred to Waterford and could then be turned away there.. I’m blue in the face talking to the so-called experts who designed the so-called Vision for Change. It has left us with no appropriate service in the face of a crisis situation,’ he said.