Saskatchewan expands virtual addiction treatment program to 12 more communities

Saskatchewan is expanding its virtual addiction treatment program to include a dozen additional communities.

The program offers people with a substance abuse disorder access to doctors, nurses and addictions counsellors in an effort to make treatment easier to reach in rural and remote parts of the province. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health announced that the program will expand to include Arborfield, Carrot River, Choiceland, Esterhazy, Hudson Bay, Kahkewistahaw First Nation, La Ronge, Melville, Pinehouse, Porcupine Plain, Tisdale, Yorkton and the surrounding areas.

Read more:

• Sask. involuntary drug treatment to be centred in North Battleford
• Mental health, addictions central intake system in Saskatchewan one step closer
• Calls to Saskatoon police mental health and addictions unit tripled over past six years

The ministry said the program’s intake and treatment are performed virtually, over a video or telephone link, in collaboration with local service providers. The program is open to those 18 and older who live in the participating areas and those attending a detox or recovery treatment centre anywhere in Saskatchewan. The ministry said participants must want help with their addictions, must be open to discussing treatment options, and can’t have a current prescriber.

The virtual program launched in January in Lloydminster, Nipawin and Cumberland House.

“This program reduces transportation barriers and improves access to life saving addiction medicine for individuals with substance use disorder,” Lori Carr, Saskatchewan’s mental health and addictions minister, said in a statement.

“Expanding this program will help more residents across our province on their recovery journey.”

Zoe Teed McKay, the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s executive director of mental health and addictions services, said the goal is to offer treatment closer to home for residents across the province who are struggling.

“By offering timely, virtual access to physicians, nurses and counsellors, we are reducing barriers and meeting people where they are,” Teed McKay said in a statement.

“This patients-first approach supports people navigating challenges with substance use in accessing compassionate, respectful care and connecting to the services they need on their well-being and recovery journey.”

The ministry noted that the Government of Saskatchewan, which has touted a recovery focused model for addictions treatment and passed legislation allowing for involuntary inpatient treatment for some addicts, has provided $3.6 million to expand access to treatment through the virtual program and additional support for existing opiate agonist therapy initiatives.

More information on the program can be found on the health authority’s website.