VICTORIA — British Columbia's auditor general says two key government programs aimed at curbing the death toll from the toxic-drug crisis were not"effectively implemented" by the province's health and mental health and addictions ministries.
Pickup's audit of safer supply found the ministries didn't make"significant progress" in tackling its"most challenging barriers," such as rural access to the program, health-care providers' hesitancy about prescribing the drugs and whether the drugs being offered were appropriate. "Many thousands of people in B.C. are grieving the losses of family and friends from the toxic-drug supply," Pickup said."The crisis is also an immense challenge for those working to provide care and support for people who use substances. My team and I have a deep sense of empathy for everyone who has been touched by this continuing tragedy."
Pickup says overdose prevention and supervised consumption services are critical to saving lives and connecting people to the supports they need, but cited municipal resistance, location and accessibility of the sites and human resources as roadblocks to effective provincewide implementation. The safer-supply program has generated criticism since its implementation, including from federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who both claimed that drugs from the program were being diverted into the rest of Canada.
People on the program, the audit says, also face restrictions about getting the drugs because they have to visit a pharmacy each day, and those in rural areas may lack access to"services required to safely and reliably access prescribed safer supply."
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)
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