2-month wait at only detox

A waiting list is two-edged sword, says Dr Alistair Dunn.

Northland's only drug and alcohol detox facility has a waiting list of up to two months, with social services left to pick up the pieces in families ravaged by addiction.

Northland District Health Board lead clinician of community mental health and addictions Alistair Dunn said a waiting list could be seen as beneficial in some instances as it weeded out people who were less serious about seeking treatment.

"It's a two-edged sword, a waiting list. There are people who come for detox and, two weeks later, they're drinking again. On the other hand, there is a window of opportunity when people want [to get clean]."

Dargaville's five-bed Timatanga Hou Centre was the region's sole specialist detox centre, although patients could also go through detox at a hospital ward or be transferred to an Auckland facility.

The centre dealt with the full spectrum of drug and alcohol addictions. Dr Dunn said most had an 80 per cent relapse rate.

"Addiction is by definition a chronic relapsing condition. So we shouldn't be shocked by that ... motivation is fickle and can change from day to day.

"[The centre] is a precious resource. There's a budget and they've got a waiting list," he said. It was best if patients received counselling before being admitted. "It's good to get some groundwork in place and strategies for when they encounter high risk situations. If they're going back to the same place they were in before they were admitted, they're probably going to relapse again."

Jodie Harris, of Tryphina House, Whangarei Women's Refuge, said there was not enough resourcing in the region to cope with the "intensive interventions" required for the growing number of addicts presenting to services such as the refuge.

"The addiction will often impact on the individual's ability to keep themselves, their families and the people around them safe. There is a huge social cost to the women, children and families of addicts in our community.

"We firmly believe that the social impact of addictions - welfare, health, justice - in Northland is too high to not fully resource the services required."

Timatanga Hou's clinical nurse manager, Rachel Beech, said people were admitted to the centre for two to three weeks, compared with hospital ward detoxes which were usually completed in three to five days.

Half the patients she had were going on to another residential treatment programme.

People's perceptions of what a patient in detox looked like were "quite wrong", she said.

"We have a pre-admission screen. There are clear rules around behaviour and it's not a significant problem. People choose to come here. They're in the process and thinking about what needs to be accomplished here ... there is no violence tolerated."