The Nova Scotia Department of Community Services, which was unceremoniously stripped of responsibility for addiction recovery centres earlier this month, has quietly removed from its website its much criticized review of Cape Breton's Talbot House Recovery Centre. An electronic search failed to turn up a copy of the "report" — hatchet job would be a more accurate descriptor — anywhere on the gov.ns.ca website. Removal of the error-riddled document, and publication of the Talbot Board's point-by-point refutation, had been persistently sought by the beleaguered recovery center. As recently as July, Minister Denise Peterson-Rafuse insisted she stood by the review, saying it  it...

30 October, 2012

In a piece of exquisite timing, the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness today released the report and recommendations of its Advisory Committee on Mental Health and Addictions Strategy (along with a 24-page summary). I haven't had time to read the 80-page report, which doesn't mention Talbot House of any of the province's five community-based addiction recovery centres. But I was struck by recommendation 2.6-1: Addictions inpatient beds for withdrawal management, opiate stabilization and structured treatment should be reconfigured according to evidence and best practice, utilizing alternative community-based approaches where possible. [Emphasis: Contrarian's.] Imagine that. H/T: John Percy, Leader, Green Party of Nova Scotia...

24 April, 2012