Staff perspectives on delivering inpatient care in a newly developed addiction medicine unit in Northern Ontario

Healthcare providers working in addiction care often navigate complex clinical, social, and systemic challenges that can affect both care delivery and provider well-being. Yet, despite increasing recognition of the need for specialized addiction services within hospital settings, there remains limited research exploring the perspectives of staff working in these environments. The Addictions Medicine Unit (AMU) in Northern Ontario represents a novel model of inpatient addiction-focused care. This study seeks to explore the lived experiences of staff who work on the AMU to better understand the opportunities and challenges encountered in this novel model of care. The intention is to generate transferable insights relevant to similar inpatient addiction care models, while reducing unnecessary operational detail. A qualitative study was conducted using focus groups between January and June 2024. Fourteen front line staff members (70% of the unit’s staff), including social workers, nurses, and addiction workers, participated in three focus groups. Eight guided open-ended questions were used to facilitate in-depth discussions. All sessions were recorded, transcribed, and subjected to thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns and themes. The study highlighted both strengths and challenges of the AMU from the staff perspective. Identified challenges included opportunities to improve collaboration with other units in the hospital and community service providers. Focus groups highlighted several strengths, including the patient-centered approach used in the AMU and a genuine commitment to supporting individuals. When staff were asked about their perspectives on contributing factors to substance use they cited trauma, social and familial influences, economic hardship, and barriers to access to treatment or outpatient services. Building a healthcare system that effectively supports individuals with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and the professionals who care for them requires overcoming systemic barriers. The AMU is a step toward patient-centered addiction care, but challenges like health care providers feeling stigmatized and isolated from other providers because they work in addictions care emphasize the need for stronger collaboration, harm reduction integration, and policy-driven solutions to improve care and support both patients and frontline workers.