Drug addicts face long waits for local rehab centres

People battling addiction are facing long waits to be admitted to Geelong rehab centres amid calls to boost funding for the sector.

People battling addiction are facing long waits to be admitted to Geelong rehab centres amid calls to boost funding for the sector.

Foundation 61 director Rob Lytzki said people could face waits of about three months to be admitted to the 15-bed Mount Duneed facility for men.

“We’ve always got more demand than we have supply,” he said

Mr Lytzki said the sector “definitely” needed more resources.

He said Foundation 61, which relied heavily on volunteers, could run a lot more efficiently if it received government funding.

Habitat Therapeutics private hospital directors Jim Tatlock and David Forbes. Picture: Alison Wynd

Over the last two years demand had been higher than it was previously, Mr Lytzki said.

People reaching out to Habitat Therapeutics rehabilitation facility in Newcomb face a wait time of several weeks.

“Normally, people when they ring in are in that mode of desperation,” co-director Jim Tatlock said.

“We field calls every day, for potential new clients, between two and six people struggling with addiction a day would be reaching out to us either via email or phone.

“And a lot of those will just drop off the radar when we tell them, we’re not going to be able to address your needs for at least four to five weeks.”

The facility has 52 beds in total, with 28 set up to be used by clients.

Mr Tatlock said the facility had asked state government representatives for funding to open remaining beds and had been knocked back, which he said was “frustrating”.

It’s understood the health department was not aware of any formal funding request from Habitat Therapeutics.

The Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association has called for additional alcohol and other drug treatment capacity, and says Victoria needs about 200 new residential rehab beds and appropriate levels of staffing to match capacity in other states.

Mark O’Brien, acting chief executive and general manager rehabilitation Services at Windana Drug and Alcohol Recovery, said its Barwon Therapeutic Community was designed to accommodate up to 30 residents at one time.

“We have over the last few months maintained an 80 per cent occupancy of up to 24 persons, working within Covid constraints,” he said.

He said its waitlist for residential rehabilitation changed every day and usually fluctuated between 20 and 30 people.

The length of time a person waited for admission depended on their unique circumstances and waiting times constantly changed, with a rough indication of two months, Mr O’Brien said.

The Corio centre receives state government funding.

A state government spokeswoman said locals could get the support to recover from addiction, with the new state-of-the-art alcohol and drug residential rehabilitation facility in Corio providing 24-hour care and counselling services.

“Construction is also progressing on a $16m Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Services Community Hub in central Geelong which will provide better access to treatment and support services,” she said. “Since coming to Government, we have invested more than $2bn in alcohol and drug services to more than double the number of residential rehabilitation beds across the state.”

Originally published as Drug addicts face long waits for local rehab centres