Around two dozen people with signs drawing attention to overdose prevention sites were outside NRGH on Monday, Nov. 18. They were asked to leave the Hospital property by security as they did not have permission to set up their 'pop up' OPS. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

OPS tent

Attempted pop-up overdose prevention site outside Nanaimo hospital quickly relocated

Nov 18, 2024 | 12:01 PM

NANAIMO — A group of Vancouver Island physicians known as Doctors for Safer Drug Policy who tried to launch an unsanctioned overdose prevention site (OPS) outside NRGH were quickly shut down by hospital staff.

A group of just over a dozen people including local doctors, healthcare workers, and advocates attempted to set up a ‘pop-up’ OPS tent at a Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH) parking lot the morning of Monday, Nov. 18, but were met by Island Health security, personnel and members of the RCMP.

Despite the initial setback, the group, spearheaded by an independent group of physicians, went ahead at a secondary location across the street on Boundary Cres. in front of an apartment complex.

Family and addictions medicine physician based out of Nanaimo Dr. Jessica Wilder said they were operating under the guidance of a December 2016 ministerial order from the B.C. government which supported the development of overdose prevention sites, in partnership with local health authorities and community partners.

However, they did not receive permission from Island Health to set up the OPS on NRGH grounds.

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“When we arrived security said under no circumstances would we be allowed to set up today, and they said if they needed to they were…told they could use physical force and they could involve the RCMP to get us arrested if we were to proceed with setting up the tent,” said Wilder.

“While we did not ask explicit permission from VIHA (Island Health) to open up a site here, it directly aligns with VIHA’s mission statement and their values in speaking about their goals for excellent care for every patient at every encounter.”

Dr. Wilder speaking to Nanaimo Hospital security Mondya morning around 9:00 a.m. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

The group had also planned another pop-up OPS at Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital.

The initiative received support locally by groups like Mom’s Stop the Harm, the Harm Reduction Nurses Association, and the Nanaimo Area Network of Drug Users (NANDU).

Wilder, speaking to NanaimoNewsNOW days prior to Monday’s event, said she and her colleagues feel “devastated” and “disempowered” about what they say is a lack of available and appropriate resources to deal with the toxic drug crisis, declared a B.C. public health emergency in April 2016.

“We ask our patients to come into the hospital, we ask our patients to trust us, to care for them, and their reality is, right now, our health systems often are not meeting their needs in the ways they need.”

While Nanaimo already has an OPS on Albert St., operated by the Canadian Mental Health Association, Wilder said putting them at all B.C. hospitals would improve patient care for substance users while also improving the overall hospital environment.

She said they hope their “grassroots initiative” sparks a discussion among the provincial government and health authorities, with the eventual goal of having all parties discuss how to open OPS at B.C. hospitals, “immediately and permanently.”

The group plans to continue with their pop-up OPS site until Nov. 22, although unsure about a permanent Nanaimo location at this time.

In an emailed statement from Island Health chief medical health officer Dr. Réka Gustafson on Monday afternoon, she stated that unapproved clinical service or demonstrations on Island Health property cannot be supported

“This position is not meant to dissuade advocacy but rather to ensure that all services provided on Island Health property adhere to regulatory, safety, and clinical standards,” Dr. Gustafson stated.

She added that NRGH and Royal Jubilee Hospital both have embedded addictions medicine consult service teams, which includes specialized physicians, who work closely with patients who use substances and to develop plans for their specific needs.

“We welcome continued dialogue with our partners around how we can work together to improve supports for the people who use substances.”

According to the latest report from the B.C. Coroners Service on illicit drug deaths, 1,749 people have died from the start of 2024 to August, with 77 occurring in the greater Nanaimo area.

Nanaimo-based family and addictions medicine physician Dr. Jessica Wilder was part of a group of Island physicians and harm reduction advocates who attempted to set up a ‘pop up’ overdose prevention site in the Nanaimo hospital parking lot on Monday, Nov. 18. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow