Charlottetown methadone clinic may have to turn away 100 patients

The methadone clinic in Charlottetown will be forced to turn away at least 100 patients addicted to opioidsin the next year unless more doctors are recruited.

The clinic, which opened in late 2014,already has more than450 patients on either methadone or suboxone.

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The five family doctors who workthere part-time are separate from the provincial methadone program available at Mount Herbert, Summerside and Montague, which has about 400 patients of its own. Both treatment programsare losing a doctor to retirement this month.

"We're at a bit of a crossroads with opiate treatment on P.E.I.," said Dr. Peter Hooley, who has been with the clinic since the beginning.

"We probably could book at least 100 patients in the next year maybe up to 200," he said.

'Hoping Health PEI will step up'

Even without the new patients, the loss of a doctor will mean less time spent with the patients in the program.

Hooley hopes they'll be able to recruit another doctor to get the training required. He's also looking to the province's health authority.

"We're hoping Health PEI will step up and ramp up recruitment efforts for physicians from out ofprovince to help," he said.

Hooley said the program has already helped get people with addictions back to work and away from crime.

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"It's frustrating," he said. "We've been open for two years and we've been able to help out in a very large way with the demand for addiction treatment, so this is a real change for us, having to turn people away for the first time."

Health PEI says Dr. David Stewart will increase the work he's been doing with the provincial program when Dr. Don Ling retires.

There is still room for more patients in the provincial program, even after Ling's retirement.

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