A pilot project is underway at the emergency department at St Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver, where overdose patients are given a take-away packs of medication aimed at warding off withdrawal symptoms and getting them into treatment to prevent deaths from tainted opioids.
The treatment package has three days worth of a drug called Suboxone, which has been used in the hospital’s ER for a few years.
WATCH: ‘Substance use disorder is a health issue’: B.C. chief coroner
Dr. Andrew Kestler, a co-lead of the program at St. Paul’s Hospital, says patients need to be in a high degree of opioid withdrawal to start treatment.
“For most sort of short-acting opioids, it’s about 12 hours from the last use.”
Get weekly health news
He says when patients come in for opioid addiction or withdrawal symptoms, they get the kit.
- Family of man who died in Royal Alexandra Hospital ER waiting room demanding answers
- New weight loss procedure at Royal Alexandra Hospital being hailed a ‘game-changer’
- Alcohol consumption in B.C. hits 20-year low, but we’re still drinking more than average
- American Cancer Society recommends blood screening for colorectal cancer
“They get the to-go pack, they get some instructions how to start it, some instructions on which clinics to follow up in.”
READ MORE: Vernon could get overdose prevention site
Kestler says previously only 25 per cent of those would actually show up to a clinic when referred, and they hope the take-away doses will make it easier for opioid-addicted patients to seek treatment and ultimately save lives.
The hospital is the first in Canada to provide this treatment.
The two-year pilot project will be evaluated by the BC Centre on Substance Use in the province, which has the highest number of overdose deaths in Canada.
— With files from The Canadian Press
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.