Pubdate: Tue, 14 Apr 2015
Source: Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)
Copyright: 2015 Prince Albert Daily Herald
Contact:  http://www.paherald.sk.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1918
Author: Tyler Clarke
Page: A1

UNACCOUNTED FOR NEEDLES TOTAL 59,671

Number represents 95 per cent return rate to Straight to the Point
exchange

Of the 1,203,382 needles handed out to intravenous drug users in
Prince Albert between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014, 59,671 are
unaccounted for.

This represents a return rate of 95 per cent of the needles handed out
at the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region's Straight to the Point
Harm Reduction Program's needle exchange.

On Thursday, members of the Prince Albert Fire Department walked
through a field littered with thousands of used needles while
attending a grass fire east of the Central Avenue viaduct.

"It's been bit of a- I wouldn't say the centre of needle activity -
but close to it," battalion chief Gerald Parks said of the area,
noting that firefighters must remain cognizant or their surroundings
so as to not prick themselves.

On Friday, Coun. Lee Atkinson found a pile of dozens of used needles
and other drug paraphernalia dumped outside his home in the city's
midtown area.

It wasn't too surprising a find, he said. Evidence of intravenous drug
use is a common sight in his neighbourhood.

A couple years ago, Mayor Greg Dionne proposed a "needles for cash"
incentive, wherein trained individuals would be paid to collect the
needles that are strewn about the city.

He brought the idea to the Ministry of Health, whom Dionne said
"didn't even consider it."

Something needs to be done about the city's needle problem, both with
its underlying social drivers and with the needle exchange program
itself, Dionne said.

The question that's being asked now is; What's the
solution?

"I know that some of the councillors are disturbed we'll be bringing
this up again," Dionne said. "It's becoming a problem."

This past year's level of unaccounted needles (59,671) is down from
the previous operational year, when their shortfall was 81,196.

It's difficult to say why fewer needles were accounted for this past
year, Prince Albert Parkland Health Region communications officer Doug
Dahl said.

In addition to providing for locals, the program gives needles to
people from outside of Prince Albert who might take their needles
outside of the community, he said, noting that this might account for
some of the unaccounted-for needles.

On the flipside, those outside of the community might also bring
needles into Prince Albert.

The Prince Albert Parkland Health Region's Straight to the Point Harm
Reduction Program's needle exchange operates under the same Ministry
of Health policies that needle exchanges across the province operate
under.

Under this policy, packages of 10 or 20 needles are handed out per
person, per day, with no questions asked or a requirement made that
needles are returned.

If recipients want more needles than that, they are required to offer
a one-for-one needle exchange.

Under these guidelines, Dionne noted that the program is more of a
"needle giveaway" than an "exchange."

[sidebar]

1,203,382: Needles handed out in Prince Albert between April 1, 2013,
and March 31, 2014

1,143,711: Needles collected in Prince Albert between April 1, 2013,
and March 31, 2014

59,671: Unaccounted for needles handed out in Prince Albert between
April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014

4,466,414: Needles handed out throughout Saskatchewan between April 1,
2013, and March 31, 2014

31,803: Extra needles returned province wide -- a 101 per cent return
rate indicating that needles are being returned form sources other
than provincially funded programs

11.4: People in Saskatchewan with HIV per 100,000 people in 2013 --
the highest rate for a province or territory in Canada
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt