Mobile drug sites approved

Photo: Madison Erhardt

Health Canada has approved Interior Health's application to provide mobile supervised drug consumption sites in Kelowna and Kamloops.

The sites should be up and running within the next two weeks, using the same mobile units currently offering overdose prevention and enhanced harm reduction services.

“We are well positioned to offer supervised consumption services in our mobile units," said Dr. Trevor Corneil, chief medical health officer. "Up until now, staff have been providing harm reduction services in the units but have not been permitted to supervise drug use.

“Supervising a person who is using drugs is more than just observation. It is an opportunity for intervention, education and building a therapeutic relationship.”

In addition to supervising consumption, IH says staff will also administer naloxone in the event of an overdose, provide harm reduction services and supplies, and offer primary medical care, counselling and referrals.

Interior Health applied for supervised drug consumption sites back in March following extensive consultations with municipalities, RCMP, neighbours and business associations.

As part of the approval process, those stakeholders were required to provide letters of opinion on the service.

Medical health officer Dr. Silvina Mema says consultations with those stakeholders will continue throughout the duration of the service.

Dr. Mema says similar supervised sites are not being contemplated for other communities within Interior Health, however, she says other communities are being monitored on a regular basis.

"We are monitoring other communities for services that could benefit the population, such as expansion of overdose prevention services or enhancement of harm reduction services in those communities," she said.

The mobile supervised service will be offered in the same locations as the current harm reduction service.

Over the first four months of this year, 50 people in the Okanagan have died from drug overdoses.