mmg.com.au

A home-based alcohol and drugs withdrawal service will be reintroduced at Echuca Regional Health.

This comes seven months after funding was cut for the previous service which affected two part-time positions.

ERH director of primary care Merrin Prictor said after months of work the health service had again secured funding for a home-based withdrawal service.

She said while this was fixed-term funding, it would be available until at least June next year.

Ms Prictor said the federal Substance Misuse Service Delivery Grant would fund the program and represented a different funding source to the previous program.

A part-time position was advertised last week as part of the program.

Ms Prictor said the successful applicant would work as part of the existing ERH Alcohol and Other Drugs Service team.

She said the role would help people who were undertaking a home-based withdrawal program and provide support for families and carers.

‘‘The home-based service is available to those individuals whose withdrawal can be appropriately managed without admission to a residential service,’’ she said.

Ms Prictor said the withdrawal nurse would work closely with a medical practitioner to help the patient to reduce or abstain from alcohol or drug use.

‘‘This co-ordinated approach helps to also improve the social functioning of those in such a situation by providing support through their treatment journey, as well as those families and others affected by someone’s substance abuse,’’ she said.