Kanada. Unsanctioned Overdose Prevention Sites Open Outside Two BC Hospitals

After two weeks in Royal Jubilee Hospital with a bad bout of pneumonia, Jared had stepped outside to smoke. Not a cigarette, but a hit of “down”—the term used in British Columbia to refer to the fentanyl-based street supply. Having recently come out of a medically induced coma, Jared was in withdrawal.

“I’ve never used inside the hospital, but I know a lot of people that do,” Jared told Filter. “What is the alternative?”

The morning of November 18, a pop-up overdose prevention center (OPC) appeared on the grounds outside Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, and another outside Regional General Hospital in Nanaimo. Neither has been authorized by the BC Ministry of Health. If they’re not shut down, volunteers—around 50 social workers, outreach workers, doctors and nurses altogether—should be able to run the Victoria site for three days over the course of the week, and the Nanaimo site for five days. Though the canopy tents may be something of a surprise to the provincial government, patients who use unregulated drugs have been made aware of the services. (Filter, USA, 18.11.2024)

https://filtermag.org/unsanctioned-overdose-prevention-sites-hospitals/