Penticton city council says needle retrieval efforts need to be improved

City council heard 167,000 needles were distributed in Penticton last year, but Interior Health representatives said the rise in discarded needles isn’t their concern from a “health perspective.”

Health officials spoke to city council on Tuesday about its harm reduction initiatives following a public outcry over an increase in discarded needles in public spaces.

In June, a Penticton woman called for action to be taken after her niece was allegedly poked by a needle in Skaha Lake Park.

While some have called for the needle distribution program to be scrapped altogether, medical health officer Dr. Karin Goodison said the program is vital to public health.

“What we will see is an increase in the rate of HIV and Hepatitis C in this community as we did in the early 1990’s when we last had an overdose epidemic,” she said.

Council heard that there are approximately 440 people in the Penticton area who inject drugs and one to 10 per cent of needles handed out are improperly discarded.

WATCH: Penticton’s inaugural needle sweep yields results (June 2019) 

“We’re bringing in legislation to ban plastic straws, and yet it seems to be perfectly fine or at least acceptable at some level that we are leaving one to 10 per cent of discarded needles out there where children can harm themselves on it,” said councilor Katie Robinson.

Regional harm reduction coordinator Lesley Coates pointed out that the risk of contracting diseases from a discarded needle is extremely low.

“We’re not concerned about it from a health perspective because one of the first things I want to point out is the risk of getting sick, getting an illness from an improperly discarded needle in the community, is extremely low,” Coates said.

That comment eliciting a critical response from some city councillors.

“That is not good enough. Extremely low should be zero,” said councillor Campbell Watt.

“If my daughter steps on a needle and is one of those — say five — that gets sick somehow because of something that is being done illegally and then discarded inappropriately, we need to find a better way.”

Councillor Robinson said more needs to be done to reduce the number of discarded needles in the community.

“While your program is reducing the risk to the one segment—which would be the drugs users—unfortunately it’s having a spillover to the majority of our community,” she said.

 “The plan is not good enough when it comes to getting these needles back.”

Council heard that 29 people died of an illicit drug overdose in the South Okanagan in 2018, and thirty people died in the region the year prior.

Health officials said the provincially-run needle distribution program works, while other suggestions such as a needle exchange or the distribution of retractable needles do not.

Council heard that the needle exchange program was discontinued in 2002 because it limited the number of needles being handed out and therefore increasing the risk of people sharing needles.

Goodison said retractable needles are problematic because a drug user must inject the full amount in the syringe before it will retract.

WATCH: Escalating problem with needles left on Penticton school grounds (May 2019) 

“What we are really encouraging people to do with fentanyl around right now is to inject a small test dose first to see if the drug is high toxicity and then to inject the rest,” Goodison said.

The Interior Health representatives said a Sharps Working Group is tackling the problem in Penticton and attempting to find solutions.

More sharps disposal bins will be installed, hours will be expanded for peer workers who are tasked with picking up needles, and a public awareness campaign will be launched.

Penticton mayor John Vassilaki noted that IHA needs to do a better job educating the public.

“Something they can actually believe because what you are telling them, they don’t believe it,” he said.

Councillor Judy Sentes spoke in favour of a supervised consumption site in town.

“I see this as a very valuable strategy that is on the back burner, I’d like to see that come forward to the front burner,” she said.

Goodison said one to two supervised consumption sites may be warranted in a city the size of Penticton.

“What we would do is look at the epidemiology of Penticton, see where people are getting calls to 911, and see where people who are using drugs tell us where that is needed,” she said.

“We will take that back to our health authority and see how quickly we can make this move forward.”