By Greg Fry

Interior Health: Supervised consumption services saving lives in Kamloops

Sep 17, 2018 | 3:34 PM

KAMLOOPS — 12 months after the service launched, Interior Health (IH) says supervised consumption services are having a positive impact in Kamloops.

It’s been just over a year now since the Mobile Supervised Consumption Service (MSCS) started offering its services (June 2017), and IH says “hundreds of clients have been connected successfully to addiction treatment and harm reduction services.”

In fact, IH says there have been no overdose deaths at the MSCS in Kamloops, much to the satisfaction of B.C.’s Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy.

“Lives are being saved every day thanks to the innovative Mobile Supervised Consumption Services offered in Kamloops,” she says. “Every visit and every overdose reversed is an opportunity to connect people to services and treatments that can stabilize their lives and help them find their pathway to hope and healing.”

Interior Health says the mobile service operates five days a week in downtown Kamloops (afternoon) and the North Shore (evening), and offers a place where drug users can be safely monitored and treated if they overdose.

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“The service saw 7,100 visits between June 2017 and July 2018. A total of 22 overdoses were reversed at the MSCS in Kamloops during this time, and there have been no overdose deaths on the unit,” says Interior Health , adding “A total of 634 referrals were initiated for clients in Kamloops seeking help with housing, mental health and addiction services, and other supports.”

Interior Health says an evaluation of the service found that overall, MSCS is meeting objectives.

“Clients find staff welcoming and knowledgeable, and many clients have accessed nursing services and been connected to community supports.”

The evaluation also identified areas for improvement, including the constraints associated with the use of a retrofitted recreational vehicle, such as space limitations, privacy concerns, and mechanical issues.

The health authority says an action plan has now been developed to build upon the evaluations’ findings, including the need to enhance service.

Tara Mochizuki, manager for Mental Health and Substance Use in Kamloops, also addressed community concerns regarding discarded needles noting IH will be participating with the City of Kamloops in an upcoming “large scale community cleanup” of needles.

However, she also wants to make clear that the issue of discarded needles isn’t solely a Kamloops problem.

“I think it’s important to separate out the Mobile Supervised Consumption Service from the problems that many communities across the province, some of which don’t have supervised consumption services, have with discarded needles. It’s not a Kamloops-specific problem,” says Mochizuki. “Communities like Vernon and Penticton and all through the province and country have problems with discarded needles.”