Prince Albert Carleton MLA Joe Hargrave called the new clinic "great news for us here in Prince Albert" speaking at a press conference to mark its formal opening on Friday. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Health care

New addictions clinic opens in Prince Albert

Nov 29, 2019 | 1:37 PM

A new addictions clinic has opened in Prince Albert. Located just down the hall from Access Place on 15th Street East, patients have access to doctors, nurses, addictions counsellors and peer support workers, all in one place.

The Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine (RAAM) clinic is being hailed as the first of its kind in Saskatchewan. The SaskParty pledged $1.6 million to open three such clinics in the 2019-2020 provincial budget. While the local clinic has been operational since Nov. 1, its Saskatoon and Regina counterparts are planned to open early in the new year.

One of the clinic’s physicians, Dr. Francois Rossouw, said it’s the speed with which patients have access to services that sets RAAM clinics apart from traditional addictions clinics.

“I think a problem has been in the past that when people are ready to deal with an addiction, there’s just not a place that’s available for them to go. We hope that this will expand that availability,” he said.

The new clinic operates on a walk-in basis, with same-day assessments by a multi-disciplinary team.

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“They can look at everything from housing to medical needs to social needs,” Rossouw said.

“Whatever your addiction is, deal with that, either get you into counselling straight away, or give you a prescription that can help you with withdrawal symptoms.”

From there he said, patients have a follow-up appointment and are connected to on-going services outside the clinic.

Brian Deichert, one of the clinic’s patient family advisors, is enthusiastic about its potential to help people overcome addictions. Deichert is five years sober after decades of struggling with alcoholism and addiction.

“If you’ve been through addiction, you go to addiction doctors who really just more or less want you to smarten-up and they don’t give you any kind of help to try and stay sober. They give you a few pills and send you on your way,” he told paNOW.

“This here, I’m just so proud and amazed at the support from the doctors and people who care about people with addiction.”

Deichert plans to apply to be a peer support worker at the clinic. He credits good counselling and peer support with finally helping him stay sober, after many tried and failed attempts.

“Recovery is so low if you have no support. And this is a place you come for support, people that understand, that’s the biggest thing.”

Operating hours at the clinic are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, with a doctor available from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Meanwhile the MLA for Prince Albert Northcote, Nicole Rancourt (NDP), said she welcomed the new clinic, but had concerns.

“There has been a significant amount of cuts to programs and services that has increased the wait times for things like treatment beds and ongoing consistent counselling services or housing options,” said the critic for social services and community-based organizations.

She says without increased the investment in community agencies, the new clinic could even increase wait times for some addictions services and treatment options.

Editor’s note: This article has been amended to include comment from MLA Nicole Rancourt.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom