When an overdose prevention site opens in Vernon later this year it won’t be a 24/7 operation.
Interior Health (IH) is hiring an outside agency to provide the service in the hopes of saving lives in the midst of an opioid epidemic.
A request for proposals published by IH this week shows the health authority is looking for the site to run “up to 20 hours a week, 5 days of the week.”
The document, for outside agencies interested in providing the service, outlines what the health authority wants from a contractor hired to operate the site.
The sites are known for providing a supervised place where drug users can take drugs under the watchful eye of people who can respond if an overdose occurs.
IH said the Vernon site should also give out harm reduction supplies, provide fentanyl test strips to check drugs and refer people to housing and treatment, among other things.
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IH also expects the overdose prevention site operators to retrieve “any inappropriately discarded supplies in the community.”
No location has been chosen for the site, but city councillor Brian Quiring believes council should be allowed to sanction the location of the overdose prevention site to ensure any impact on local businesses is minimized.
A suggestion the health authority said it will consider.
On the topic of location the health authority said it must be in Vernon but the exact location will depend on what sites are suggested by contractors bidding to provide the service.
Watch: (January 2019) Vernon’s overdose prevention site
“The successful proponent will demonstrate that the location chosen is accessible and appropriate for the needs of the target population,” said Interior Health in its request for proposals.
IH said the agencies bidding to provide the service should also show they’ve consulted with “external stakeholders” about the location.
The health authority plans to award the contract in June or July and would like to see the site up and running this summer.
An overdose prevention site is similar to a supervised consumption site in that it allows a safe place for people to use illicit drugs where there are people trained to respond if an overdose occurs.
However, the legalities of the two are different, as supervised consumption sites operate with a federal exemption while overdose prevention sites are allowed to operate in British Columbia because a provincial public health emergency was declared.
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