Why do we need supervised consumption services?

The provision of supervised consumption services is one component of the provincial and regional response to the public health emergency declared in April 2016.

Supervised consumption services help reduce the transmission of disease, reduce fatal overdoses, and help connect people to health care services, including treatment. A key feature of both sites is their integration into existing health services and both sites are co-located with expanded substance use treatment in the form of opioid agonist treatment, which is the provision of medications such as Suboxone and methadone.

Supervised consumption services are part of a range of care services for individuals with mental health and addiction issues. In conjunction with naloxone, opioid agonist treatment it is a first-line intervention for people who are at risk for overdose.

International research on supervised consumption services has demonstrated that these services are beneficial to people who use drugs as well as the surrounding community. Evidence has shown that supervised consumption services:

• Save lives
• Reduce sharing of needles that cause HIV and hepatitis C
• Increase use of detox and addiction treatment services
• Provide opportunities to connect people to health care services, housing and other supports
• Reduce public drug use
• Reduce the numbers of inappropriately discarded needles
• Do not contribute to increased crime in the surrounding area

• What are supervised consumption services?
  Safe, clean spaces for people to use substances under the supervision of a health care professional.
• Supervised consumption sites
  The two supervised consumption sites in Surrey will be integrated into existing health services.
• Opioid treatment
  Provides individuals who are addicted to substances with prescribed medicine in a supervised clinical setting.
• Overdose prevention and response
  Become aware of how to prevent, recognize and respond to an overdose.