Women's groups say street nurse needed to prevent sex worker deaths

A program that helps female prostitutes in St. John's says a street nurse is needed to prevent women from dying.

At least two women who worked in the sex trade died this year in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"These were two drug-related deaths, which I think happens a lot more often in this city than is reported. We do have lots of people who are entrenched in that lifestyle for whom chaotic drug use is their life," said Laura Winters, who is with the Safe Harbour Outreach Program (SHOP).

"We do not currently have health-care services that meet their needs."

Winters and others have been pushing to get government to create a street nurse position to help deal with the unique challenges of women who might otherwise avoid going to seek medical help.

"More and more … we are seeing women coming forward with very serious conditions which are completely preventable, if they had primary health care," said Jenny Wright, executive director of St. John's Status of Women's Council.

I was just speaking to a woman yesterday and she asked, 'Where is that nurse and why don't you have her?'- Laura Winters

Wright told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show that for many addicts and street workers, simply going to a doctor or emergency room is not an easy process, given the nature of their lifestyle and the stigma surrounding drug use and prostitution.

"There's a huge amount of stigma around sex work and drug use, and when you use both there are a lot of reasons to not show up at the health centre," Winters said.

"There's a huge lack of understanding about the lived realities for people in this lifestyle and dealing with these issues. For example, an appointment two weeks down the road and nine in the morning is not going to work if your life is chaotic and you're not able to maintain that."

Previous street nurse program was seen as success

The reason both women believe a street nurse is the best option for dealing with the problem is because they have seen it work in the past.

Winters said there was a nurse working on the streets of St. John's last summer temporarily, which yielded great results.

"I was just speaking to a woman yesterday and she asked, 'Where is that nurse and why don't you have her?'"

"I said, 'You know, we don't have her right now, there's a number of reasons,' and basically she said to me, 'Well you know, it's her personality — that's why I see her because I trust her she treats me like a human being.'"

Winters said the nurse visited the women where they live and work, and helped them with many health issues. She said there was a noticeable improvement in the health of those women that were seeing the nurse, and they want to see such a service offered year-round.

Both Winters and Wright have been trying to get Eastern Health to get a permanent street nurse position in St. John's, but so far have had little luck.

"They simply said we can't have her because of HR reasons," said Wright.

"These women have a right to health and safety just like the rest of us. We have a nurse here who can do it and we need her back — because the two deaths we are talking about were completely preventable."