Saskatoon clinic 'struggling' with explosion of HIV

An inner-city community clinic in Saskatoon says it is strained to the limit trying to cope with a rising number of HIV cases.

The Westside Clinic, located ina low-income neighbourhood of the city, has seen a fourfold increase in the number of HIV-positive patients in just a few years, according to Stephen Helliar, a family physician who works there.

Helliar told CBC News onWednesday that the agency is currently treating more than 85 HIV-positive clients. Three years ago, he said, that number was 20.

"What we've noticed over the last three years is an explosion of HIV," Helliar said, adding that there are likely more cases in the community that arenot being treated.

"We're trying to get some more resources into the inner city because we're really struggling," Helliar said. "This is really scary stuff that's going on out there."

The Westsidefacility is one of two sites operated by the Saskatoon Community Clinic, a non-profit health agency that relies substantially on government support.

CBC News reported on Monday that new province-wide statistics reveal a sharp increase in the number of Saskatchewanresidents testing positive for HIV, the virusthat leads to AIDS.

Last fall, the Saskatoon clinic put forward a proposal to the provincial Health Ministry asking for funds to double its capacity, in part to meet the rising demand for services related to HIV treatment. Ten days ago, the clinic was told its requestwas turned down.

"We can only see... an increasing problem with HIV, hepatitis C and diabetes and other diseases that are affecting people in the inner city," Helliar said.

"We will continue to do our best to meet those needs, but with the limited resources that we have, this is going to be very difficult, and we are just struggling to do what we can right now."

Minister grilled

Saskatchewan's health minister was challenged Tuesday on the issue.

"This clinic is over capacity and needs funding to expand," Judy Junor, the Opposition's health critic, said during question period in the legislature.

"Why did the [governing] Sask Party leave some of the province's most vulnerable citizens out of this budget?" Junor asked, referring to the province's spending plans, unveiled the previous week.

Health Minister Don McMorrisreplied that the government had "already moved in the area of HIV" andpointed totwo initiatives, including a review of the province's needle exchange program and money earmarked for an aboriginal health undertaking.

McMorris also told the legislature that the province had provided money for a mobile bus to tour Saskatoon's inner city and provide street-level health care information.

According to Patrick Lapointe, the administrator of the Saskatoon Community Clinic, the proposed expansion sought an additional $3.5 million from the province to effectively double the clinic's working space and double the amount of servicesitcan provide.

Lapointesaid a key part ofthe proposal was to create space for other public health agencies to use, so that clients would get a complete array of treatment.

Heexpressed hope that the government wouldreassess the clinic's funding request.

"We're just hopeful that with this new information about the tremendous pressures of health that the inner city is experiencing around HIV-AIDS, that they'll relook at their decision-making," Lapointe said.