New mobile harm reduction van and vending machines for the northeast
People in Prince Albert without transportation and means to access healthcare services can now attend to their health at a mobile harm reduction van, according to the Ministry of Health.
“It’s critical to connect with vulnerable clients who may not otherwise access mainstream healthcare services,” said Everett Hindley, minister for mental health and addictions, in a news release.
This is the fifth harm reduction van in the province. The Ministry of Health operates vans in Prince Albert, North Battleford, Yorkton, Saskatoon and Regina.
The harm reduction van will be open to serve clients five mornings a week, says the ministry. Besides providing healthcare and education, it will distribute clean needles, safer sex supplies and the overdose prevention medication Naloxone to clients.
The ministry says there’s evidence that harm reduction programs minimize the harmful effects of addictions and help reduce the transmission of sexually-transmitted and blood-borne infections, such as HIV and Hepatitis C.
The vans also accept used needles and aim to reduce the number of discarded needles on the streets.
The vans are staffed with healthcare workers who address the unique needs of each client, says Hindley.
“This creates greater opportunity for those struggling with addictions to engage on a path to recovery and treatment,” he said.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority says harm reduction vending machines for the northeast region of the province are at various stages of consultation and implementation in the communities of Prince Albert, Melfort, Tisdale, Nipawin, Rosthern and Wakaw.
Plans are to install the machines in neighborhoods where they are accessible to those who need them so clean medical supplies are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Clients only receive access to these machines through a one-on-one consultation with a qualified SHA clinician or provider, said the Saskatchewan Health Authority in a statement to CTV News.
There are also plans to implement three new community wellness buses to travel to communities in south, central and northern regions says the Ministry of Health.
The government did not provide a timeline on when community wellnesses buses would be ready for clients.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Loblaw leaders push back on 'misguided criticism' of grocer as boycott begins
Loblaw's new chief executive, as well as chairman Galen Weston, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a push to boycott the company gains steam online.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
There's a limit to how much interest rates in Canada and U.S. can diverge: Macklem
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canadian interest rates don't have to match U.S. or global rates, but there is a limit to how much they can diverge.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.