Limited help for addicts 'bizarre'

A Canterbury policy, which is set to limit addiction treatment for "justice clients" is "bizarre" and "grossly inequitable", drug and alcohol experts say.

About 80 per cent of criminals have addictions and the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) decision would discriminate against those most in need, the senior doctors say.

Their concerns come just weeks after Christchurch methamphetamine addict Kasha William Gosset, 28, was jailed for attempted murder.

Gosset's parents had said they could not get treatment for their "monster" son.

The new alcohol and drug project was passed by the Canterbury board last November.

It was discussed behind closed doors at a board meeting on Friday.

A report detailing "major concerns" about the project has been prepared by Professor Doug Sellman, Dr Daryle Deering, Dr Simon Adamson and Dr Fraser Todd, of the National Addiction Centre (NAC), who also hold joint clinical positions within the CDHB.

The report was sent to board chairman Alister James and chief executive David Meates last Tuesday, but was not presented at Friday's meeting.

Letters of concern have also been written by the National Committee for Addiction Treatment (NCAT).

The NAC report said justice clients were being discriminated against under the new alcohol and other drug (AOD) service policy, and the changes could breach human rights.

"To exclude people involved in the justice system from specialist addiction treatment, even on the basis of `charges pending', is bizarre and as grossly inequitable as excluding them from specialist cancer or heart-disease assessment and treatment," the report said.

"Further limiting the access to assessment and treatment for these citizens may solve short-term problems in the CDHB's alcohol and drug service, but in the end is likely to have a negative impact on the region as a whole, including more high-profile tragedies reported in the media."

The AOD redesign will create a one-stop shop for addiction services, focusing on community care and alcohol and drug screening through GPs.

The project outline said the service would continue to provide support for prisoners due for release, but was unlikely to provide "containment-type facilities" for them to move into and would "not necessarily involve comprehensive assessments or subsequent reports".

"The revised AOD system ... will reserve treatment services for those who are most likely to benefit from them."

Despite "overwhelming demand" for addiction treatment and an estimated doubling of the treatment services required, funding would not increase, it said.

Deering said people with severe drug addictions were often involved in crime, but deserved the same access to treatment as anyone else.

"If you can offer early intervention it may prevent significantly worse problems down the track, but I don't think you are going to solve all the severe-addiction problems by having brief interventions," Deering said.

The proposed 12-week cap on residential programmes was also a concern, as those with severe dependencies needed up to 12 months treatment.

NCAT co-chairwoman Christine Kalin said it "makes no sense" to take funding away from those most in need.

"One has to question whether this is a veiled cost-cutting measure," she said.

Canterbury's Community Alcohol and Drugs Services clinical head, David Stoner, said the board was aware of concerns by NAC and NCAT when it agreed to the changes. The board policy regarding not assessing anyone before the courts was unchanged.

The new service would enhance services for justice clients by getting community organisations to do assessments, he said. James said he received the report only a few days before Friday's meeting, and would consider putting it before the board.

- © Fairfax NZ News