Pubdate: Thu, 10 Mar 2016
Source: Observer, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016, Sarnia Observer
Contact: http://www.theobserver.ca/letters
Website: http://www.theobserver.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1676
Author: Tyler Kula
Page: A1

MORE HELP TO PREVENT OPIATE OVERDOSES

Bluewater Health Officially Launches META: PHI Program

Access to a lifesaving drug that reverses opiate overdoses continues 
to expand in Sarnia- Lambton, with the introduction of a new program 
designed to help those at highest risk of dying from drug and alcohol abuse.

Naloxone, an injectable drug that reverses the overdose effects of 
opiate drugs like fentanyl and oxycodone, is now being sent home with 
overdose patients who show up at Bluewater Health's emergency department.

Ultimately, it's about trying to stop overdose deaths from happening.

People often hesitate to call 911 when drugs are involved, said Dr. 
Del Donald, an addictions specialist with the Bluewater Methadone Clinic.

But that delay can make a mortal difference when people using drugs 
appear to pass out, he said.

"The whole problem is if you stop breathing, you've got about three 
minutes, four," he said.

"( Naloxone) really is a lifesaver."

The most recent statistics for Sarnia- Lambton - from 2013 - say 11 
deaths were linked to opiates that year, up from six in 2012.

Meanwhile, naloxone - specifically used for opiate overdoses - has 
already been used by paramedics 11 times since they were authorized 
to carry it in ambulances last fall, according to a recent County of 
Lambton report.

The county's public health unit is planning to start offering 
naloxone soon to folks who use its harm reduction programs like 
needle exchanges, said Dr. Sudit Ranade, the county's medical officer 
of health.

Hopes are that could start within two or three months, he noted.

Naloxone could also be available at places like the Bluewater 
Methadone Clinic, he added, but government approval hasn't been firmed up yet.

"The primary factor in preventing overdoses is having the right 
materials available at the right time," he said about the drug's importance.

"What you need is a fast- acting, immediate-reversing substance like 
naloxone to be administered right at the point of discovery. That's 
what this does."

So far one person has been sent home with a naloxone kit since 
Bluewater Health started offering it under the Mentoring, Education, 
and Clinical Tools for Addiction: Primary Care- Hospital Integration 
( META: PHI) program early this year, said Cathy McFarland, the 
hospital group's director of mental health and addiction services.

On Wednesday, Bluewater Health officially announced the launch of the 
META: PHI research program being conducted in Sarnia and six other 
sites in Ontario via the provincial Adopting Research To Improve Care 
( ARTIC) program.

Focused on opiates and alcohol, the program basically realigns the 
health care system so people at risk with addictions get ongoing care 
and don't have to wait for treatment.

"We have been seeing a few people and we've actually had some really 
good consults that I think would have probably got lost in the system 
otherwise," said Donald, one of five addictions specialists in Sarnia 
and one of the key organizers behind the local project.

In concert with not making people wait for treatment - via immediate 
referrals to addiction specialists like Donald in a Rapid Access 
Addiction Medicine ( RAAM) Clinic - it also includes giving people 
drugs to help their immediate cravings, linking up addictions 
supports at Bluewater Health with RAAM and family doctors, and 
increasing access to naloxone.

Some primary care doctors are wary about managing patients with 
addictions, Donald said.

"We're going to try to slowly get family doctors interested in ( 
META: PHI)," he said, noting addictions specialists will help with 
the workload.

"We can take as much ... as they want."

Plans are also to expand to Petrolia soon, Donald said, noting the 
program has been feted already as a success and he expects other 
communities to start realigning their services too.

In Sarnia, "I think what META: PHI is going to do is really answer 
that need, that we can get the kind of help that people need - at 
least with alcohol and opiate use disorder - that's been wanting for 
a long time," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom