LPH stigma makes it poor choice for detox facility: Buckler

Stigma alone is reason enough not to use the Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital as a detox facility, says the head of St. Joseph’s Care Group.

Coun. Aldo Ruberto said the hospital, slated for closure in three years, would be a good choice to house not only a detox facility, but might also be able to tackle issues like homeless shelter bed shortages. A similar proposal was made to city council by Shuniah councillor and nurse Alana Bishop.

"The LPH is a wonderful facility and with the proper amount of funding I’m sure we could open it up again," Ruberto said. "It’s on the radar and we want to look at the possibility of doing something with that building."

St. Joseph’s CEO Tracey Buckler said stigma, a change in best practices for mental health and addiction and operational costs are all reasons the LPH, which once housed 1,200 patients, would be a poor choice. The hospital has 71 patients and also houses St. Joseph’s administration staff, human resources and other corporate services until the mental health rehabilitation program at St. Joseph’s is built.

"The LPH is part of the history (of Thunder Bay) but it’s also part of creating that stigma (around mental health," Buckler said. "In the old days everyone used to be thrown into a building and that would be it."

Buckler said using the building for any mental health or addictions treatment would be a step in the wrong direction.

"Putting people back into the Lakehead Psychatric Hospital in my view would be inappropriate. It would be a step backwards. We’re looking to integrate into the community whenever we can. We’re looking to have mental health and addictions treatment as part of mainstream health," she said.

"To make that more normal to reduce the stigma for people is really where we need to focus and there are lots of different ways to do that. I don’t believe part of the solution would be relocating people to the LPH site."

Buckler said a needs assessment study, currently underway with partners like the city and St. Joseph’s, is necessary before any decisions can be made.

"It feels like we’re putting the cart before the horse, looking at solutions before we have the entire picture assessed appropriately," she added.

Ruberto said perhaps the whole site wouldn’t be used and some of it could be used as a stop-gap measure until other solutions can be found.

"Whether it’s the right facility or not I don’t know," said Ruberto. "This could be a short-term solution until we finally get a new building built. You have to look at long-term solutions and immediate solutions. We don’t want to wait three years until something’s’ done."

Ruberto said the city is speaking with funding agencies to see what can be done to help stop a detox bed shortage in Thunder Bay. St. Joseph’s Care Group’s Balmoral Centre turned away over 1,000 people last year because there are only seven crisis beds available with another 15 beds for treatment.