Partnership targets Sydney's addiction crisis

South Pacific Private, on Sydney's Northern Beaches, has teamed up with Sana Health Group to address the city's growing addiction crisis.

Sydney is experiencing the nation's highest rates of heroin, cocaine and MDA usage, with a 15 percent increase in people accessing addiction services in New South Wales in the past decade.

South Pacific Private is a fully-accredited, 54-bed hospital focusing on the holistic treatment of trauma, addiction, and mental health conditions.

The hospital's general manager, Leah Hammond, said she was thrilled to be partnering with the behavioural health group.

"What a fabulous opportunity to partner with Sana, and to be able to grow and develop, and be able to offer support to more people," she said.

"They're committed to supporting people to have a better future, and to have that network of holistic providers alongside us is amazing."

Ms Hammond said while the increased rate of people seeking treatment was concerning, there was an optimistic aspect to the statistics.

"The positive is that there's an increased awareness in seeking support, and what's important is that it's okay to seek treatment, and that people are doing so," she said.

"There's been a 15 percent increase in people seeking treatment in the past 10 years, and I think there's a few different things at play there – certainly we're seeing a bit of a COVID hangover, with people out and about in the community once again. We're also seeing pressures in cost of living, and for younger people we're seeing the impact of social media."

Sana founder Ruth Limkin said the partnership represented the company's commitment to ensuring excellent standards of care across the industry.

"By partnering with a licensed hospital, we are proud to enhance this focus across our group and are looking forward to the invaluable experience and direction South Pacific Private will be able to share."

The new collaboration aims to offer support to more people amid rising demand for addition services

Ms Hammond said being able to offer a wider range of treatment options on the Northern Beaches was vital.

"Each individual experience with mental health and addiction is different, so for some people, being able to stay close to home, to their personal community is a great benefit," she said.

"For others, being able to really step away and take a deep dive into their treatment, that's what they need. We assess each individual and work with them to determine the services they need.

"The important thing is that if anyone out there is struggling with mental health, with addiction problems, help is available."

South Pacific Private uses a comprehensive, internationally recognised program integrating clinical expertise, including medical detox and specialist nursing care, psychiatric treatment, 12 step and counselling to support recovery from addiction and co-morbidities.

"Support is available, and you can start with your GP, or you can get onto the South Pacific website, you can look at what the Sana Group have available," Ms Hammond said. 

"What's really fabulous about this partnership is just being able to have a range of treatment options available for our clients."

Read more: 'Transformative' process recognised with national Award for Excellence

Read more: Mental health champion – vale Lorraine Wood, South Pacific Private

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