Pubdate: Sat, 26 Mar 2016
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Authors: Leigh Chapman and Doris Grinspun.
Note: Leigh Chapman is a registered nurse and the sister of Brad 
Chapman. Doris Grinspun is a registered nurse and the chief executive 
officer of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO).
Page: A9

LEARNING FROM A BROTHER'S TRAGIC DEATH

Addicts Need Safe Injection Sites

Brad Chapman was found collapsed on a downtown Toronto street from a 
drug overdose last August, and died eight days later in hospital.

When not in jail, Brad lived on the streets for the last 20 years. He 
died at 43, but his mental health and addiction challenges took him 
away long before then.

Over the past few months, Brad's sister, Leigh, and mother, Cori, 
have had the privilege of meeting several people who shared memories of Brad.

They learned that Brad could still play the guitar, liked to 
Rollerblade, and brightened the lives of others with a kind word and a smile.

It consoled them to know that Brad is missed - not just as a son, 
brother, father, grandfather, and uncle, but also as a friend and a 
member of the community.

But even with this consolation, Leigh Chapman, a registered nurse, 
knows there are evidence-based public policies that could have helped 
save Brad.

A supervised injection service is a health service that provides a 
safe and hygienic space where people can inject pre-obtained drugs 
under the supervision of nurses.

There are more than 90 "supervised injection sites" (SIS) worldwide, 
including those in Australia, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, 
Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and two in Vancouver.

Two decades of research on SIS show they reduce deaths from 
overdoses, reduce transmission of infectious diseases, increase use 
of detox and other addiction treatment services, and improve community safety.

Brad felt safe at a nearby harm reduction program where he could 
exchange used needles for clean ones, access safer crack kits, and 
engage with non-judgmental public health staff.

He would regularly call home from this facility, which offered Brad a 
sense of belonging and way of checking in with those who loved him.

But a needle exchange is different from an SIS. Brad got his needles 
but then shot up alone, unsupervised, in an alley - which is where he 
was found by police after overdosing.

What if, instead, Brad had been able to access an SIS within a harm 
reduction program where he felt welcome? Would he still be with us?

There is also naloxone, a short-acting drug used to reverse a 
suspected narcotic overdose.

Health Canada has determined naloxone's ability to quickly respond to 
an overdose far outweighs its minimal risks. Ottawa Public Health has 
successfully trained at least 150 people to provide naloxone, and 
about 50 local overdoses have been reversed.

Because of the increasing number of deaths associated with 
prescription and nonprescription narcotics, some jurisdictions in the 
United States are training those most likely to arrive first at a 
scene (fire and police personnel) to recognize overdoses and 
administer naloxone.

What if the first responders who arrived on the scene had been able 
to immediately give Brad naloxone and start CPR?

This is why the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario has spoken 
out for SIS, and called for easier access to naloxone.

Nurses were at the forefront of creating Insite, the safe injection 
site in Vancouver, and RNAO fought then-prime minister Stephen Harper 
to keep it open.

The City of Toronto is moving forward with plans for SIS. Isn't it 
time other municipalities such as Ottawa - where overdoses took the 
lives of 40 people in 2014 - took similar steps to avert tragedies?

We have the evidence, we just need the political will. And with 
federal Health Minister Jane Philpott expressing her support for 
Insite, nurses are hopeful we can prevent others like Brad from dying.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom