Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated in my statement, during the course of the pandemic, we established a couple of managed alcohol programs, and they varied to an extent. Some were simply just delivering alcohol to people to prevent withdrawals, whereas, for example, the Arnica has established a much more elaborate managed alcohol program. My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services is: given the kind of necessity of setting up these programs during COVID-19, what are the plans for the programs that have been established going forward post-pandemic? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd just like to take a moment to thank the MLA for researching my previous statements in this area when I was a Regular Member. I stand by my statements about the need for harm reduction and that addictions are not a moral failing; they're a health issue. Having said that, I am in support of managed alcohol programs. He referenced the fact that they were offered during the pandemic. That's the case. It was trying not to double the problem so that you had both people who were isolated because of the pandemic and then also in alcohol withdrawal.
At this point, alcohol is currently only being offered at the Spruce Bough, which is the new name for the Arnica Inn, and at the Aspen Apartments. Having said that, the Aspen program is not really a program. If someone is waiting for COVID test results or who needs isolation while they are recovering from COVID, they would be at the Aspen. If they needed a managed alcohol program, they would be provided one at that time. We do have a mandate priority as a department to establish a managed alcohol program in the territory, and we are currently exploring options to make that a reality. Thank you.
My point is that I don't want to lose the progress that has been made, and I know there are some questions about whether the Spruce Bough or the Aspen Apartments as physical infrastructure will continue to exist, but I would like to see the program model that is started there continue. I believe already some expertise has been developed. My question is: given that we've started some of this work already, has the department started to collect any data, and has it used any of this work that kind of organically started during COVID-19 to inform delivery of office?
The answer to the Member's question is: yes, the department is working with all locations where alcohol has been and is continuing to be provided during the pandemic. Together, lessons learned to inform the ongoing approach. That's not only the Yellowknife locations. There was also a managed alcohol program offered in Inuvik during the lockdown. The information is being gathered by interviews with providers, with users, and they have the classic questions of what worked, what didn't work, and what could we do better to create a formal managed alcohol program. We anticipate that this information will be analyzed and available in the spring of this year.
I'm very happy to hear that work is being done, and I look forward to seeing that information once it's analyzed. My main concern here is that a lot of the funding that established these programs was COVID relief funding. It's not necessarily money that has been budgeting and is found in the operations budget for Health and Social Services. Specifically, I know the Arnica program, they're hiring a manager to run this program. They are looking at best practices. However, their funding right now is COVID relief funding. My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services is: can I get a commitment that that program funding, regardless of the infrastructure and the larger COVID questions, for the managed alcohol program can continue past COVID-19?
We recognize the value of the program at the Spruce Bough. It manages two best practices together, which is the managed alcohol program, dealing with addiction and homelessness at the same time. The department has renewed its funding with the Spruce Bough until the end of September 2021. The idea is that in the next six or seven months the department will work with the Yellowknife Women's Society to explore options for continuing this program once the pandemic funding expires.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to try to remember that the Arnica is now called the Spruce Bough. I thank the Minister for continually getting that correct. My last question is that the overall goal in this is to reduce hospitalizations due to alcoholism, which is what managed alcohol programs are proven to do, but can the Minister speak to how we are going to track the effect of these programs on actually reducing hospitalizations? Can you speak to the data we are hoping to collect there? Thank you, Mr. Speaker
There is kind of a two-part answer here. The specific commitment is to reduce the number of hospitalizations resulting primarily from alcohol use. That is something that is collected by the hospital and healthcare system, and that is ongoing. With respect to the Spruce Bough, the department is working with them to develop reporting and data-monitoring tools that could talk to us in more detail about the kind of services that have been provided connected to the outcomes of those services, so how those two things connect. This information is being collected now, and it will continue to be collected during the life of this program, which is at least until the end of September. The test here is whether this program has been effective. We like evidence-based decision making, so we are looking for the evidence that shows us that this program is helpful and worth continuing. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
