With St. Thomas’s only methadone clinic destroyed by fire, hundreds of patients are without a place in town to get their medication.
Clinic 217 burned down Thursday after a fire in a nearby business spread.
Jeff Dowler depends on his daily methadone and is upset by the loss of the clinic.
“I was really sad about it,” he says.
Now he must travel to London to get his medication.
The Ontario Medical Group, which owns Clinic 217, also owns Clinic 528 in downtown London.
A temporary methadone clinic is being explored for St. Thomas, and in the meantime, patients are being transported to London.
Busses are running several times a day between the cities.
The Ontario Medical Group believes a more efficient and convenient solution will be in place in coming days.
“Within the next few days there should be a temporary location in St. Thomas and from what I understand, investigations are already being made into the acquisition of a new building in St. Thomas, which will become our permanent home,” says Dr. Brooke Noftel.
“Patients do have free funded transportation, to and from St Thomas so they can be seen by their own physician and it is their regular physician that will see them here in London.”
While patients are thankful for the transportation, the commute has made a short task, into a two-hour chore.
“I don't think it’s cool that everybody has to come all the way to London,” Dowler says.
