The provincial government wants to treat Manitobans with severe addictions and mental health disorders closer to home and is looking to the private sector to make it happen.

Currently, Manitobans requiring that kind of treatment have to leave the province to receive those kinds of services.

From 2013 to 2017, funding for out-of-province treatment was provided to 39 Manitobans diagnosed with severe addiction and mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. The price for sending patients out of province costs hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

"We have noticed that in Manitoba there are agencies and organizations who deliver that kind of treatment closer to home, and so our government is trying to determine if we could do this kind of treatment closer to home," said Health Minister, Cameron Friesen.

Friesen said he believes there is enough capacity within the province to provide these services, which is why the province will issue a request for proposals later this month to determine which local facilities want to offer government-funded spaces for those particular patients.

"We're essentially shaking the tree to allow organizations to determine if this is something they can do. We have set terms in this request for proposals so that groups will be able to look at the criteria and then gauge the extent to which their organizations can provide these services."

Friesen said the province also expects the per-client cost of in-province care would be significantly less than that current treatment process, potentially freeing up funds to treat more Manitobans.

The minister also suggested that providing residential treatment options near a person's support network could also improve patient outcomes.