Developing a roadmap for nurse-assisted injection in BC’s supervised consumption services

Supervised consumption services are an essential part of health care and community services for people who use substances in British Columbia. These services are particularly important for people who inject substances because they offer a safer place to inject and an opportunity to access harm reduction supplies, connect with resources, and receive care if needed. Using in a supervised consumption services can make the difference between life and death in the context of the overdose crisis because staff can quickly detect an overdose, administer naloxone, and call emergency services. Therefore, it is essential to remove any barrier that may prevent people who inject substance from accessing such services. One barrier that is consistently reported is the lack of assistance for people who need help injecting. Nurses are not currently allowed to provide any assistance. This project is designed to explore this issue and find ways to improve access to supervised consumption services for people who need help injecting.

Team members: Tim Gauthier (Nurse Practitioner); Kirstin McLaughlin (University of Victoria); Sandra Ka Hun Chu (HIV Legal Network); Virginie Dalpé (Université de Montréal)