St. Francis Farm Detox Unit

• Methadone Detox
• Benzodiazepine Detox
• Suboxone Detox
• Zubsolv Detox
• Methadone and Benzo combined detox
• Individual care planning
• 24-hour medical supervision
• Individually tailored 4-8 week Detoxification Programme
• One-to-one work
• Group work
• Primary Healthcare
• Addiction and health education workshops
• Onward referral to post-detox rehabilitation and aftercare services
• Female Self-care
• Female-only ‘here & now’ group
• Note: Family visits are not facilitated within the detox programme 

For referrals and further information please call (059) 9186761 (087) 9603905 or email info.SFFdetox@mqi.ie

You can contact St. Francis Farm Detox unit yourself or a referral can be made through another agency for you. At this point, our staff will ask you to share basic information about yourself and the nature of your addiction. This is also an opportunity for you to ask any questions you might have about the programme. We aim to offer you an assessment appointment within one month of the initial contact.

At an assessment interview, our staff will explore your care needs to make sure St. Francis Farm Detox unit is the best option for you at this time. The interview also gives us the chance to ensure you meet our admission criteria. At this stage, additional reports will be required to support your application. These reports can be from your doctor, Psychiatrist, counsellor, key worker or probation officer and we ask for them so that we can help put the best possible care plan in place for you. You will be asked to provide four passport photographs and the name and address of your GP/psychiatrist for your assessment meeting.

The waiting time depends on several factors including bed availability, case complexity and also continuing to meet the admission criteria as outlined below. Waiting times vary from client to client.

• Clients must be 18 years of age or over.
• Clients must be on 50mls or less of prescribed methadone daily.
• Clients must be prescribed 24mgs or less of suboxone
• Clients must be prescribed 11.4mg/2.9mg or less of Zubsolv
• For benzodiazepine detoxes, clients must be on 30mgs or less of prescribed Valium daily.
• Clients are required to be stable & free of all other illicit substances. Clients are considered stable after they have provided 4 consecutive weeks of urine samples that contain only prescribed medications.
• Clients who also use cannabis are advised to reduce their cannabis consumption in the weeks prior to admission and stop using cannabis in the week before admission. However, given the length of time that it takes cannabis to leave the system, a positive urine result will not prevent a client from being admitted to the unit.
• We do not provide detox from alcohol in St. Francis Farm, however, should alcohol be identified as a secondary issue we will seek additional support from local & referral agencies to work with a client on this issue prior to admission.
• Clients on other prescribed medication, for example, anti-depressants / anti-psychotics, will be assessed on an individual basis to determine whether the St Francis Farm detox is the most appropriate service to meet their needs.
• The client’s GP and/or psychiatrist will need to provide up-to-date reports for clients presenting with complex mental health / medical conditions, including histories of self-harm and suicide ideation/attempts.
• No offer of an admission place will be made to a client, without an agreed pathway back into a methadone and /or benzodiazepine prescribing community service, in the event of a breakdown of the residential detox treatment.

Yes, on the day of admission, you will need to give a supervised urine sample. This urine sample must be clear of all non-prescribed substances (except cannabis if this was named at time of assessment). If you have been in detox where benzodiazepines were prescribed, a positive urine result for benzodiazepines is acceptable. Failure to meet these criteria will prevent you from being admitted.

All clients are asked to contribute a maximum of €110 weekly to the cost of Detox. If you are unable to pay this will not prohibit you from attending the programme.

Yes, each client will be given their own room. Bed linen and towels are provided but if you prefer you can bring your own.

Yes, each client can make two 20 minute personal calls each week, one on Wednesday and one on Sunday. Clients do not receive personal calls or have mobile phones, however, there is no limit on the number of letters you can write or receive while on the programme.

During the Detox Programme visits from family or friends are not facilitated, this is to allow people to fully focus on their programme while resident here in St. Francis Farm, however, phone calls are facilitated twice per week, allowing for one video call to loved ones on a Sunday.

No, that is not part of the criteria to enter this programme, however if you would like help to stop smoking the staff will assist you.

Clients will not be allowed to leave the programme unaccompanied for the duration of the detox. Clients are encouraged to attend any dental/medical treatment, haircuts and any other appointment dealt with prior to admission, and are strongly advised to have or have applied for a medical card.

If you complete our Detox programme successfully, you have a strong chance of admission into our Rehabilitation programmes. Staff will support you to be referred to a residential or community-based aftercare support service.

Vaccination for Covid-19 is no longer a requirement for admission to St. Francis Farm Detox, however we do encourage clients to get vaccinated prior to entering a residential treatment programme.