Mission could soon be home to an opioid substitution treatment clinic.
A staff report will be presented to council on Monday afternoon, recommending a zoning bylaw text amendment to allow for a clinic to be located at the Mission Memorial Hospital site.
The zoning change would allow clinical treatment, such as methadone and suboxone, to be operated by the Fraser Health Authority.
Council and representatives from Fraser Health met earlier in the summer (July 10) and discussed several topics including harm reduction strategies, including needle distribution, detoxification services and addictions recovery; opioid agonist therapy in Mission; and mental health concerns and services.
At that time, council said it would consider the zoning amendment to allow a clinic at either the Mission Friendship Centre or the Mission Community Health Centre.
According to the report, it was noted that “a downtown location would place undue hardship on the other businesses in the area” and more people would be willing to access the service if the facility were co-located with other medical services.
The proposed clinic would be staffed by two physicians, a health care worker and administrative support, would operate three half days per week, and could see approximately 20-25 clients per week.
Clients would receive a prescription and be required to fill the prescription at any local pharmacy. The clients would be inducted on methadone or suboxone in the clinic with the support of the physicians and staff on site.
After the induction, clients would be monitored by attending the clinic on a weekly basis. Those who require ongoing counselling would be referred to Fraser House, located on 4th Ave. in Mission.
If council decides to move forward with the zoning text change, a public hearing would have to be held before the proposal could receive final approval.