Ndp plan for drug deaths

[maryjane48]

Fraser Health said in late August it would make a number of changes to improve its response to the opioid crisis. Here is an update from chief medical health officer Dr. Victoria Lee:

Promise: In addition to clinics already operating in Surrey, to open more in other cities to offer treatment for opioid addiction, such as medications like Suboxone and methadone.

Update: An Abbotsford clinic opened in September and is still ramping up its services; Burnaby, Mission and Chilliwack clinics are to open by the end of this month; Langley’s will take a bit longer.

Promise: Emergency departments will identify people who may be at risk, and offer supports such as first-line treatment (Suboxone) for opioid use disorder.

Update: This has started in Burnaby, and will be rolled out to other hospitals. Not everyone wants to start treatment, but anecdotally some have accepted the help, including one young man who has now been able to return to school and part-time work.

Promise: Contact all patients who overdosed at home within 48 hours of discharge from emergency departments to assist them in accessing services.

Update: This has been started in Surrey, and will be expanded to other cities. Not everyone wants such help, but some have agreed to receive more information about naloxone and some have agreed to pursue treatment.

Promise: Notify family physicians when their patients overdose, and encourage the doctors to reduce barriers to getting naloxone. And work with other health professionals such as physiotherapists and chiropractors to enhance options for pain management available to people suffering from chronic pain.

Update: Work has started on both.


http://theprovince.com/news/local-news/ ... 17e79620ac

[hobbyguy]

Judy D'Arcy, much to her credit, knows full well that the real solutions lie with changes in federal laws, at least to the point of decriminalizing drug users. She asked, and got flat out told no.

The other programs may help a little, but they aren't all that effective. Ohio has been trying, but the results have been depressing: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/08/30/ohio-drug-overdose-deaths-more-than-double-thanks-fentanyl/618778001/

Even then, all the deaths are not related to addicted folks. Fentanyl is showing up in "party" drugs.

Not sure there is a solution at the provincial level, but worth a try.

[GordonH]

What I find very interesting is they are willing to bend over backwards for this issue, but for surgery wait times.... very little if any action is being taken.
Be interesting to find out how many people waiting for surgery are on this addicting causing opioids.

[twobits]

And with all of the info put out about tainted drugs that no one cannot be aware of, readily available test kits that detect foreign content as witnessed at every music festival, and antidotes to these dangerous opiates quite readily available......we still have an overdose crisis.
When is our Gov't going to recognize that they can't fix stupid with the current laws and policy. When are they going to realize that it will be much cheaper to regulate and supply via prescription these "stupid" people with a safe and controlled product rather than law enforcement of the black market and injection sites? Medical costs of dealing with OD's would in itself pay for rehab for these addicts.
The whole logic is a cluster Fck when we are funding police and safe injection sites and people have to wait two years for a knee replacement.

[Loki2u]

What I find very interesting is they are willing to bend over backwards for this issue, but for surgery wait times.... very little if any action is being taken.
Be interesting to find out how many people waiting for surgery are on this addicting causing opioids.

What does one have to do with the other? They are two separate issues. If they are related issues....please provide a link showing the number of deaths caused by waiting for surgeries. Then compare that figure with the number of opioid related deaths in B.C alone this year.

As to your second point, its important to note that opioids can be addicting. A very large majority of people can take opioids as prescribed and not even experience withdrawls let alone dependence and relapse.