Edmonton methadone clinic finds quick fix
Alberta Health Services has temporarily fixed a staffing problem at Edmonton's methadone clinic.
The three doctors who prescribe methadone at the Opiate Dependency Program are leaving at the end of the week over a contract dispute.
After the province issued an anxious call out for doctors allowed to prescribe methadone to step into the breach, eight physicians agreed to help in the short term.
But so far the province has no long-term plan, having recruited only one physician to work part time.
The turmoil at the clinic is upsetting many of the Edmontonians who rely on methadone to survive.
"I've been seeing a lot of concern on the patients," says Ron Wai, a pharmacist in Edmonton's inner city. "It's sort of unacceptable that something like this ends up happening."
More than 500 people rely on the clinic to provide them with methadone, a synthetic, but addictive, narcotic used to treat heroin, morphine or oxycontin addiction.
One of those patients, former drug user Kelvin Jolicoeur, said he felt panic when he was told his doctor was leaving.
"They haven't told me much," he said. "They just apologized that they were going."
Jolicoeur said he was told the dispute was over provincial cuts.
"The government wanted to cut it back — cut back on doctors," he said.
Jolicoeur has since found another physician to precribe his methadone which he depends on.
"Methadone keeps me level," he said. "I don't have to wake up and think, 'Where am I going to get a fix today?'"
