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Edmonton-area doctors are calling on the province to reinstate closed supervised consumption sites and increase access to injectable opioid agonist treatment programs in order to reduce strain on hospitals already reeling from COVID-19.
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In a letter addressed to senior government and health officials in Alberta and Ottawa, the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association’s Opioid Poisoning Committee says the province’s current approach to addressing the drug poisoning crisis is “further exacerbating the acute care system resource shortage” and “directly contributing to an increasing number of deaths.”
Committee co-chairs Dr. Ginetta Salvalaggio and Dr. Cheryl Mack, wrote communities do not have the proper resources needed to respond to the crisis in a timely fashion, meaning those who are experiencing a drug poisoning end up requiring help from first responders, emergency departments and intensive care units more often.
“In addition, people who initially survive a severe drug poisoning may need ICU-level care but not benefit if the response time is delayed,” the letter states.
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“These are people who are loved by their family and friends and would have a better chance of surviving with a timely response.”
In order to mitigate the strain on the health-care system, make more critical care resources available to COVID-19 patients, and avoid drug poisoning deaths, the committee is calling on the Alberta government to reinstate recently closed in-person supervised consumption services and fast track expanded access to emergency overdose prevention sites in Alberta’s seven major cities, or more.
In 2020, the province closed ARCHES, a safe consumption site in Lethbridge, and the Boyle Street Community Services safe consumption site in Edmonton earlier this year.
The committee is also calling for emergency access to alternatives to the illegal drug supply by expanding access to injectable opioid agonist treatment (iOAT) programs.
“In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the above emergency policy actions are lifesaving not only for people who use drugs, but for all Albertans in need of intensive care,” the letter states.
The letter has been signed by more than 145 people and organizations across the country, including Moms Stop The Harm, the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, and the United Nurses of Alberta.
