Opioid treatment service

Wellington, Porirua, Kapiti, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt

You can contact the service by:

• phone: 0800 300 183
• email: ots@ccdhb.org.nz

Our service is open Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 5pm. We are closed public holidays.

You can find us at:

113 Adelaide Road
Mount Cook
Wellington

There is limited free public parking near our building.

We have satellite clinics in Porirua, Kapiti, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt. 

Wairarapa

If you are in the Wairarapa, call Pathways on:

• phone: 06 370 6102

They are located at:

Ground floor, Departmental Building
31 Chapel Street
Masterton

Pathways are open Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm.

We provide assessment and treatment for people with an addiction to opioids. Opioids include:

• codeine
• heroin
• methadone
• morphine
• oxycodone
• poppy seed tea.

Our team works alongside our wider addiction services team. We can also work with other mental health and addiction professionals who may be helping you already.

Our services include:

• working with you to develop your treatment plan
• ongoing assessment of your alcohol or drug use
• monitoring your progress
• prescribing medication, if it is the best option.

What you can expect from our service

Once we have done an initial assessment of your needs, we will arrange a time to meet with you and carry out a detailed assessment. The assessment usually takes about 90 minutes.

If we agree that we are the service best placed to help, and you decide you would like treatment, we will develop a treatment plan with you.

We encourage your whānau to be involved in your treatment planning — if they understand your treatment, they will be in a better position to support you.

If we are not the best service for you, we will provide you with information about other services that may help you.

Substitution treatment

If opioid substitution is recommended, before you start treatment you will need to:

• complete some urine tests to confirm that you are opioid dependent
• have some physical health checks.

Substitution treatment starts on a Monday. We then need to see you at the clinic:

• every day to check for signs of intoxication or withdrawal
• twice on the first and third days of your treatment.

This is to keep you safe and to get you on the correct dose as soon as we can.

During this time you will need to follow your treatment plan.

Once we have found the correct dose for you (through a process called titration), your medication will be dispensed once a day from your pharmacy. You will need to take the medication at the pharmacy. You can choose which pharmacy, as long as the pharmacist agrees to dispense to you.

Monitoring your progress 

You will see your case manager every 3 months. Appointments can be more regular if needed. Your treatment will be reviewed by one of our clinicians every 6 months. 

We are a specialist service so when you are stable, we will transfer your treatment back to your usual GP or other healthcare provider.

You can contact us directly by:

• calling us
• dropping in to the service.

Use the contact information above. We can talk with you confidentially and there will be no obligation for you to do anything more if you choose not to.

You can also be referred through your GP or another healthcare provider. We prefer that you are also under the care of a GP because opioid addiction can also affect your physical health.