End of the addiction program at the MUHC: shock waves in the community

The McGill University Health Center (MUHC) will permanently close the doors of its addiction psychiatry program in December. The news created a shock wave among community stakeholders, who consider that this closure will have “serious consequences”. Especially since the needs are more and more pressing in the streets of Montreal.

To justify its decision, the communications department of the MUHC mentions by email that the program has been operating in its current format without modernization of services for many years.

Management adds that the treatments offered there were very specificthat they met the needs of a limited number of patients and that the end of addiction psychiatry services will allow the MUHC ofimprove access to specialized services and [de] reduce emergency room wait times.

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However, for the president of the board of directors of the Association of dependency workers of Quebec (AIDQ), Louis Letellier de St-Just, this decision infuriating is the result of lack of vision.

Adapt it instead of closing ithe said in an interview, adding that according to him, Montreal needs the expertise of [l’Université] McGill.

He recalls that the program of MUHC has resources more complex and more completefar from those currently available to community organizations.

THE MUHC is also planning to transfer its dependency experts to psychiatry programs addressing psychotic, mood, anxiety, and personality disorders, so that treatment of comorbid addictions can be integrated.

Of serious consequences

Community stakeholders also deplore that the main stakeholders were not consulted.

We come to us with such announcements once the decisions have already been made and there has been no consultation with stakeholders in the field.regrets Louis Letellier of St-Just.

According to the latter, the end of the program MUHC will have serious consequences and vulnerable people will be the first victims. Decision-makers do not think about the impacts their decisions have on the streetadds the one who is also a lawyer in health law.

For her part, the general director of the Quebec Association for the Promotion of the Health of People Using Drugs (AQPSUD), Chantal Montmorency, notes thatthere is no longer a social safety net for the most vulnerable people and more and more people are being left behind by the system.

Every time a service closes, it’s dramatic.

The isolation forced by the pandemic was also a significant factor in aggravating the overdose situation in Montreal, continues Ms. Montmorency. And the overdose epidemic won’t go away anytime soon, she believes. as long as we do not place patients at the heart of decisions.

Patients transferred

For patients, the gradual closure will take place over six months, a matter of ensure that those already engaged in the program can complete their treatmentis in charge of communications for the MUHC. They will then be redirected to the University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM) or to community organizations.

However, according to Ms. Montmorency, change can be very destabilizing for people with addictions. Not considering the bond of trust between the patient and the caregivers must be rebuilt.

In addition, given the increase in cases of overdoses, community organizations are facing a staff shortage.

[La fermeture du programme] will inevitably further burden existing resources.

Employees are exhausted and we are unable to offer them support and increase salariesadds for her part the director of AQPSUD.

By December, demand will not drop and waiting lists will not magically disappear, recalls Chantal Montmorency. In the field, it’s difficult to see resources crumbling.

The end of the addiction psychiatry program also marks the end of peer mentoring at the MUHCwhich consists of patient volunteers advising other patients during individual meetings.

[Ce type de mentorat] represents an essential part of the rehabilitation process and [son] impact on users is recognizedargues Louis Letellier de St-Just.