Hamilton hospitals say they can't host a permanent supervised injection site
City has been having a hard time finding a permanent site
Hamilton hospitals say they can't set up a permanent supervised injection site because they don't have any space downtown that offers the anonymity and accessibility needed for clients to use drugs.
That's according to a joint letter from St. Joseph's Healthcare and Hamilton Health Sciences in a response to a request from city politicians that they explore the possibility of opening a site at one of their locations.
The letter cites high volumes of patients, limited space and concerns around "co-location" with addiction withdrawal services and children's health care as some of the reasons their facilities wouldn't be a good fit.
"That, coupled with the requirements for privacy, anonymity, and accessibility, as well as the needs of current patients, means that neither hospital can offer appropriate and practical space for a safe consumption site at this point in time," it reads.
The consultation took place after a motion by Ward 2 councillor Jason Farr, who asked in early May that meetings between public health officials meet and staff from local hospitals be made a "priority" in order to take on the city's struggle with overdose deaths.
"Seventy-five deaths in less than a year in Hamilton, a tragic statistic that's 75 per cent above the provincial average is indeed a crisis," he said at the time.
The concept of a supervised injection site at a city hospital was also supported by Mayor Fred Eisenberger who previously described a hospital-owned facility as the "best locale for a safe injection site."
Hamilton has been having difficulty finding a location for a permanent site in or near the downtown core, something the hospitals acknowledged while pledging their commitment to working with the city and community groups to provide addiction and harm reduction services.
Praise for temporary site
"This would include assisting to operate and support a safe consumption site in the community," the letter suggests. "Such a plan could include the purchase of a property with city funds and a collaborative model with community and hospital partners."
The hospitals also praised the Shelter Health Network and Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre for setting up a temporary overdose prevention site, which officially opened in June with enough funding for six months.