Thousands flood IH safe site inside RV

Downtown: 18,943 Rutland: 7,502 Kamloops: 7,100

More than 26,000 people accessed services at the supervised drug consumption site in Kelowna in its first year of operation.

In April 2017, Interior Health acquired an RV to be used as an overdose prevention site, where staff were available only to respond to overdoses. In July 2017, the site transitioned to a supervised consumption site, where staff can supervise safe drug use.

“We as a province are in the middle of an opioid overdose emergency, and this mobile supervised consumption site is an important piece of Interior Health’s response to that,” said Danielle Cameron, Interior Health administrator for mental health and substance use.

IH parks the RV downtown daily, 1 to 5 p.m., and in Rutland from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Between June 2017 and July 2018, 18,943 people visited the RV downtown, and 7,502 visited the site in Rutland, for a total of 26,445 people.

A total of 47 overdoses were reversed at the mobile site in Kelowna. There have been no overdose deaths on the unit.

Almost 400 referrals were initiated through the mobile site for people seeking help with housing, mental health and addiction services.

“We are pleased that the service that we’ve designed is being well received by the people who can benefit from it, and we’re seeing good health outcomes as a result of its existence, as well as saving lives in the process,” said Cameron.

In comparison, Kamloops’ mobile supervised consumption site had 7,100 visits between June 2017 and July 2018, and a total of 22 overdoses were reversed on site.

In Kelowna, there is a high demand for harm reduction services, including safe consumption of drugs, said Cameron. However, the on-site nurse also provides other medical services, including looking at rashes and changing bandages for people, she said.

“A lot of these folks that are coming to the mobile . . . are accessing care that they may not have otherwise accessed, and we are hearing from the clients that they feel welcome, that they feel safe and that they really value their experience with the staff.”

In Kelowna, the high volume of people accessing the mobile site is exceeding the capacity of the RV, said Cameron.

Challenges identified include space limitations, privacy concerns and mechanical issues.