A 72-hour detox centre in Winnipeg is officially able to take in people highly intoxicated on drugs like meth as of Wednesday, after medical professionals gave final approval to move forward, Manitoba’s premier says.

Wab Kinew said it took longer than expected to ensure the right training and resources were in place for medical staff at the Disraeli Freeway protective care facility to feel prepared to handle unique challenges associated with a patient high on meth.

It was important to heed advice from experts before making the change, he said.

“It’s just making sure that the equipment, the facility, the expertise, the training for the people who are going to be in this protective care centre … is all up to par to deal with somebody who’s under mess psychosis, which could be a very, very challenging situation,” Kinew told media in his office on Wednesday.

Four of 20 beds at the detox centre are devoted to such patients right now, with more on the way, Kinew said.

The announcement came after the first question period of the spring session wrapped.

The original timeline for having the centre ready to take in people high on drugs was last fall, in the weeks after Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith introduced new detox legislation.

The Protective Detention and Care of Intoxicated Persons Act, passed in early November, increased the length of time intoxicated people can be detained in Manitoba from 24 hours to 72.

The NDP government said the change was required to meet the unique challenges associated with people high on methamphetamines who may cause harm to themselves or others, or damage property.

Some argued detaining people in this way might criminalize or stigmatize drug misuse and addiction.

The province’s former chief psychiatrist, among others, suggested there wasn’t much precedent to support a three-day detention centre and raised questions about possible complications with patients.

The chief of Winnipeg police spoke in support of the bill, as did a group of doctors who also wanted the NDP to ensure certain health and safety standards were in place.

“When you’re talking to a group of physicians about [how] we’re going to move somebody who would otherwise be in emergency room care, you have to have a very high standard of care at the alternate location, and so we’ve been taking the time to listen and respond,” Kinew said Wednesday.

“When the physician made the case, when the other medical folks made their case, it’s pretty important that we get it right.”

The 20-room 190 Disraeli Fwy. site, which is overseen by Main Street Project, started taking in patients intoxicated by alcohol late last year.

Patients high on drugs are presently assessed by an emergency room physician, then taken to the protective care centre by officers.

At the centre, patients are detained in three-by-three-metre cell-like rooms outfitted with a surveillance camera and intercom systems, as well as a sink and toilet.

They can be held for up to three days, during which time Kinew says the goal is to treat them and connect patients with resources.

PCs call for inquiry into hospital deaths

During Wednesday’s question period, Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan repeated calls for an inquiry into four Manitobans who waited hours in hospital before their recent deaths: six-month-old Luca Teng, Stacey Ross, 55, Judy Burns, 68, and Genevieve Price, 82.

Kinew said there are ongoing critical incident reviews associated with those cases, but Khan said those reviews are subject to privacy constraints that bar the public from being able to see all the details of what went wrong in each case.

“[An] inquiry would be public for Manitobans to see what’s actually happening,” the Opposition leader said.

“It would be a third party would come in and do it. It wouldn’t be censored by government. It would address policies and decision making and how the end result got to where it was, where Manitobans are losing their lives.”

The NDP is expected to introduce several health-care related bills this session, including legislation that would end mandatory overtime for nurses, the introduction of a patient safety charter and new nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, according to a government news release.