Winnipeg man seeks addiction treatment in Cuba
Last Updated: Monday, February 25, 2008 | 10:15 AM ET
CBC News
A Winnipeg man who travelled to Cuba to receive treatment for alcoholism says he was "blown away" by the treatment he received in the Caribbean nation.
"Steven," who is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and asked that his name be withheld, said he had been kicked out of his home and was living in his car when he decided to seek help for his alcohol problem.
The wait for treatment in Manitoba was at least three months — time he didn't have, said the father of three who is in his 40s.
"I was running out of options. And running out of time, literally," he said.
Steven said he heard about a clinic in Cuba offering addiction services, so he turned to Choice Medical Services, a Winnipeg-based company that arranges medical tourism in Cuba, Costa Rica and Canada.
He paid between $5,500 and $6,000 per month for three months of intensive therapy with a group of doctors, psychiatrists and counsellors in a former tourist resort. The staff spoke Spanish; he communicated with them through an interpreter.
"I would say if you were going to a resort for a vacation, this would be a 1.5-star resort," he said. "You're in a 1.5-star resort with seven-star personnel."
Top-notch treatment in bare-bones clinic
The clinic was bare-bones, he told CBC News, but the treatment was excellent.
"The programming was very intensive. There was as much focus on physical restoration as there was on emotional and mental treatment, as well as specific treatment," he said.
"It really made a difference going away for those 99 days," he said. "Coming back, my family noticed the change immediately. They noticed physical changes; they noticed emotional changes, mental changes."
Steven said he had to attend hospitals in Cuba twice — once for assessment and once for treatment for a broken toe — and was impressed with what he saw.
"As Canadians, we've always prided ourselves on having one of the world's best medical systems, but I'm sorry, I was completely blown away by the Cuban medical system," he said.
"While I was in the hospital, I didn't see anybody wait any longer than 20 minutes in the waiting room. I didn't see any gurneys in the hallway. The infrastructure itself is old," he noted, recalling a time he walked down a hallway where pipes dripped water.
"But then … I walked into this state-of-the-art medical room that was totally pristine, clean, with a brand new MRI machine. And the results for the testing that I had to have done were back the next day."
Province overhauling addiction services
Yvonne Block, executive director of mental health, addictions and spiritual health for Manitoba Health, concedes the province needs more programs and better coordination of the ones already in place.
"It's unfortunate if somebody tries one program and isn't able to access it at that time," she said.
The provincial government is currently overhauling its addiction services, Block said.
She plans to research the Cuban model to find out more about its success, Block said, noting that no program in Manitoba provides as intensive service as the Cuban one.
