B.C. residents dealing with high-risk drinking or alcoholism, the most common substance abuse disorder in the province, will be connected to services that can better support them.
A new guideline, the first of it’s kind in Canada, will help fill the gap in B.C.’s system of care for those with addictions.
Minister of Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy along with representatives from the B.C. Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) announced The Provincial Guideline for the Clinical Management of High-Risk Drinking and Alcohol Use Disorder today (Tuesday).
“The rise of problematic drinking in British Columbia, especially among our young people, is of deep concern to our government,” said Darcy.
“The impacts are far reaching and can be devastating for youth, for families and for communities across B.C.”
Darcy added the specifications will be of particular interest to rural and northern communities in the province.
She stated patients will not be required to travel long distances to a treatment facility and addiction support will instead become widespread.
The BCCSU is working on two supplements to the guideline: one in partnership with the First Nations Health Authority, which will give clinicians the tools to provide culturally safe care to Indigenous peoples; and a second to support the management of alcohol-use disorder for women who are pregnant.
The BCCSU will suggest ways to improve early intervention in primary care settings for youth aged 12 to 25, as well as new tools for withdrawal management.
The guideline was created by a committee of 43 clinicians, researchers, scientists and policy experts from regional health authorities and the Ministry of Health, as well as people with lived experience.
The plan will be updated every three years to make sure the research is up to date.
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