Last week, the Government of Saskatchewan released a new Action Plan for Mental Health and Addictions that will create 500 new addictions treatment spaces and a central intake system.
New funding will total $49.4 million when fully implemented in the fifth year of the plan.
The new Action Plan has three pillars of focus: building capacity for treatment, improving the system itself, and transitioning to a recovery-oriented system of care for addictions treatment.
Work will begin immediately on implementing a central intake system that patients can contact directly to refer themselves for mental health and addictions services. A central intake will make the system more accessible to patients and enable care providers to better coordinate care for patients across the system and throughout patients' care and recovery journey.
"To build capacity for addictions treatment, we are setting a new target of adding at least 500 addictions treatment spaces in communities across the province over the next five years," said Mental Health and Addictions Minister Tim McLeod. "With new announcements coming in the weeks and months ahead, we are on track to exceed our original target of adding 150 addictions treatment spaces. New funding in the Action Plan will further accelerate this work for a new near-term target of 200 spaces by the end of this fiscal year."
The addition of 500 spaces over the next five years will more than double the number of addictions treatment spaces that Saskatchewan funds in communities across the province, including detox and pre-treatment, inpatient and outpatient treatment, post-treatment and supportive living spaces.
"Our plan is to build a full continuum of care that includes detox, inpatient treatment, and supportive living that is as seamless as possible and recognizes that the pathway to recovery is different for each patient," added McLeod. "This plan helps ensure the safety of both those suffering with addictions and those in their communities."
The new Action Plan replaces Saskatchewan's existing 10-year Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan which is due to expire in 2024.