What is causing N.W.T.'s 'dramatic spike' in alcohol-caused hospitalizations?

An emergency room doctor in the Northwest Territories says he's seen a "fairly dramatic spike" in cases of alcohol-caused hospitalizations in the past few years andit may be related to an RCMPdecision.

Dr. David Pontin, who works at Stanton Territorial Hospital,said the spike could in part bebecause policechanged the way officersdealwith highly-intoxicated people. A few years ago YellowknifeRCMP began treating the issueas a health matter rather than a criminal one, and began directing those individuals to social services instead of police lock-up.

When that change was made the emergency room saw an influx of highly-intoxicated patients, said Pontin.

"It was painful."

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But hesaid the change is positive.

"[Itbrought] the enormity of this problem out of the shadows andinto the realm where it is most productively managed, which is in the health world," he said.

Pontin said the territorial government is working to help intoxicated patients. Recently it has worked on implementing the sobering centre.

He noted there'sa chance the sobering centre service may increasethe number of hospitalizations because of its on-site medical supervision.

The supervisors identify health issues that require medical attention at the hospital, which are "appropriate and were likely missed before," he said.

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Glen Abernethy,Minister of Health and Social Services,said the sobering centre is one of the ways the territorial government is trying to address the high rate of alcohol-related hospitalization.

The department has multiple action plans working to assist people with mental health and addictions issues, he added.

It 'actually misses 80 per cent'

The Northwest Territories had the highest rate of these hospitalizations in Canada, according to the report byCanadian Institute for Health Information.

Tim Stockwell, director of the Canadian Centre for Substance Use Research (CISUR), was on the expert advisory panel for the report.

He said northern Canada has higher rates of alcohol-caused hospitalization than southern Canada. A couple of his speculations includethe tendency to have "fly-in, fly-out workers"and having harsh winters that force people inside.

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However, according to Stockwell,the report doesn't cover all hospitalizations related to alcohol.Things such as accidents caused by alcohol are missed.

So the report "actually misses 80 per cent" of the alcohol-related hospitalizations, he said.

In the coming weeks, CISUR is releasing a report thatwill look more broadly at hospitalizations related to alcohol. Anditwill address the costs associated with all kinds ofsubstance use, such as alcohol, cannabis, tobaccoand opioids.

Stockwell said the study will show thatthe territories have higher costs to dealwith alcohol and tobacco.

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