Supervised Consumption: A Report to the Community of Medicine Hat

Supervised Consumption: A Report to the Community of Medicine Hat

Medicine Hat Coalition on Supervised Consumption (2018)

Supervised Consumption: A Report to the Community of Medicine Hat

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In 2016-2017, Medicine Hat experienced 10 opioid-related overdose deaths, and the South Zone had the highest rate of emergency room visits related to opioids (23% higher than the provincial average). Additionally, Medicine Hat experienced 61 EMS calls related to opioid overdose in 2016 (Alberta Health, 2017).
In 2016, Alberta Health announced funding to support the assessment of the need for and development of supervised consumption services (SCS) across the province. The Medicine Hat Coalition on Supervised Consumption Services (MHCSC) was formed to guide the needs assessment and program planning in our city. The MHCSC includes representatives from nine organizations including Alberta Health Services, the City of Medicine Hat, Medicine Hat Police Service, Medicine Hat College, the University of Calgary and numerous community-based organizations and service providers. In 2017, the MHCSC did a research study involving a survey with 185 people who use substances, follow-up interviews with 10 people and focus groups with employees working directly with people who use substances in Medicine Hat.
This report summarizes findings from our needs assessment and research. The purpose is to describe the current state of Medicine Hat’s opioid crisis and offer recommendations for evidence-based interventions to address it. Our goal is to provide information to help demystify and debunk myths associated with drug use, harm reduction and supervised consumption services more specifically.
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In partnership with:
ISFF
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Correlation Network