Peterborough clinics safer-supply program reports drop in overdoses, drug use – Peterborough [Video]

Data from safer-supply intervention programs run by a clinic in Peterborough, Ont., show a major reduction in overdoses and less drug use for its participants.

In 2022, the Peterborough 360 Degree Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic (360 NPLC) launched safer-supply programs (SSP, or prescribed alternatives programming) as a means to provide a safer alternative to “toxic and unpredictable” street drugs. The program is one of 25 pilots funded by Health Canada’s Substance Use and Additions Program.

As of May 2024 there were 41 participants in the program. They are individuals deemed most at risk of a drug overdose or death. They are prescribed a regulated, pharmaceutical-grade opioid (Dilaudid tablets) which can be swallowed, inhaled or injected.

The clinic on Thursday released the results of interviews with participants in its programs encompassing May 2022 to December 2023. A round of interviews in November 2022 involved 14 of 21 participants; another round of interviews in January 2024 involved 16 of 41 program participants.