Kingston Health and Sciences Centre (KHSC) have announced $1.8 million in funding from Ontario Health, which will allow for enhancements at the only publicly funded withdrawal management centre in southeastern Ontario.
The centre, which currently operates as a Level 2 medically supported model, will transition to a Level 3 detoxification site with 24 hour medical services soon to be available on site.
In the last year the center had roughly 1200 admissions from over 760 clients, and KHSC expects capacity to be increased by 20% thanks to enhancements being made with the new funding.
Most notably, the site will now have a Registered Practical Nurse on site 24/7, and a Nurse Practitioner (NP) on site on the weekend to complement the existing weekday NP.
The transition will also allow all 22 beds on site to be reclassified as observation beds, mitigating the need to transfer clients to other spaces.
Executive Vice President of Patient Care and Chief Nursing Executive Jason Hann says the upgrades will mean the detox centre will be able to treat more people in house, decreasing bottleneck in emergency rooms.
“What we’re noticing is that there’s a lot more toxic drugs out there, so the withdrawal is much more severe,” Hann said.
“What we would do then is not being able to manage them there, we would have to transfer them to the emergency department or KGH site… this keeps the care within the detoxification center and we can do it safely and manage patients well.”
With addictions support workers on site 24/7 as well, Hann says allowing for longer stays and enhanced services at the detox centre can be helpful for clients working towards recovery.
“Patients that are suffering from addictions need quality care and compassion,” Hann said.
“it really helps support, you know, reduce risk of relapse because they’re staying with us and we’re able to medically manage their symptoms.”
In a release from KHSC, CEO and President Dr. David Pichora said taking steps towards recovery can be “overwhelming” and the detoxification centre provides a safe, supportive place to start on that path – with new funding allowing a step forward in the support of those individuals.
While no official date has been earmarked for when enhancements will be implemented, Hann said recruitment of staff is in progress and the upgraded centre is expected to be operational by the end of the fiscal year in March.
