Clinic brings opioid addiction treatment to Victoria suburbs

A new clinic is bringingaddiction treatment optionstothe fast-growingsuburbofLangfordoutside Victoria.Until now, the treatment had only been available downtown.

The main focusofWestshore AVI Health Centre's services will be providing opioidsubstitution therapies, including methadone and Suboxone.

"We do know that peoplehere are suffering,"clinic medical director Dr.RandalMason toldAll Points Westhost JasonD'Souza.

"We're here to provide some relief to their suffering through having the services available."

AVI's non-profit board of directors decided to fund a clinic in Langford based on data showing about 40 per cent of the people who use existing opioid substitution treatment services come from the West Shore communities, including Sooke and Colwood.

Those services have been concentrated in downtown Victoria, wheretheopioidaddiction and overdose crisis has been most visible because ofhomelessness and open drug use.

"Inreality, addiction is just something that just crosses every socioeconomic line.If affects everybody," Masonsaid.

Cost, transportationbarriers to treatment

Whileopioidsubstitution therapies are very effective at treating substance use disorder, Mason said, "a lot of people fall off their treatment at some point and part of that is due to barriers that are in place."

"It could be financial.It could be transportation," he said. "One of the things we're seeking to do is reduce that a little bit by placing the clinic in an area where we know services are lacking."

Mason said the new West Shore clinic, which is currently open only on Tuesdays and Thursdays,relieves some of the pressure on existingopioidaddictiontreatment services.

He said the clinic's hours of operation will be re-evaluated once the current schedule reaches capacity.