While Fraser Health celebrates a year of success with its safe injection site in Surrey, there is no plan to expand this service to Maple Ridge.
Surrey’s SafePoint injection site celebrated its first anniversary on June 8, and it has been used by 1,561 people, who have made almost 62,000 total visits. There have been no deaths, and staff have reversed more than 620 overdoses in the first year.
Fraser Health has taken many steps to address the overdose crisis gripping B.C., such as distributing more than 18,000 kits of naloxone, the opioid antidote. However, it is not planning to expand north of the river.
“While there are no current plans to expand supervised consumption services to Maple Ridge, we have robust services to engage with people who do need support for mental health and/or substance use concerns,” said Fraser Health spokesperson Tasleem Juma.
She said Fraser Health provides access to first-line treatment for opioid addiction through Alouette Addictions Services, and also has overdose prevention services operating out of the Salvation Army.
“Our overdose prevention services are intended to put people with naloxone in close proximity to where people are consuming substances, creating spaces where people who overdose have a greater chance of being revived,” said Juma. “Staff are equipped with naloxone and appropriate training for overdose response.”
“Health services are provided wherever a person is, including mental health assessments, medication monitoring and provision, linkages to treatment services, assistance in accessing primary care, and assistance in securing housing.”
She said the health authority’s Intensive Case Management (ICM) team is a team-based model of care, providing services to people with severe substance use concerns who may be mentally ill and homeless. Teams include clinicians, nurse practitioners, addiction physicians, psychiatrists and housing outreach workers who work with individuals to provide them with services to find and maintain housing. They also help a person address their substance use, mental illness, general health and other needs in order to stabilize their lives. The team will go to wherever a person is to provide the services they need, said Juma.
Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read said the data shows safe injection sites are effective, but because Maple Ridge’s population is small compared to Surrey, she does not believe Maple Ridge would have enough users accessing the service for Fraser Health to open a site here. There are approximately 82,000 in Maple Ridge, and approximately 520,000 people living in Surrey.
“It hasn’t been a topic of conversation for us in Maple Ridge,” she said.