As the opioid overdose crisis continues to cause hardship, a coming change to prescribing practices has been welcomed by Sunshine Coast Overdose Prevention Task Force spokesperson Dr. Joerg Jaschinski.
On Feb. 8 the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions announced 30 registered nurses (RNs) and registered psychiatric nurses (RPNs) are expected to complete training by the end of this month to prescribe the opioid agonist treatment (OAT) medication Suboxone.
The ministry confirmed with Coast Reporter a nurse working out of Sechelt is one of three in the Vancouver Coastal Health region to receive the training.
Jaschinski said the task force “welcomes this new service.”
“The value of having multiple prescribers for opioid agonist treatment is that people who seek help can access medication in a rapid, timely manner,” he said.
“[The nurses] obviously undergo rigorous training and are a part of a large team that helps people with substance use disorder,” said Jaschinski, adding other RNs “are interested in this training down the line.”
In a statement to Coast Reporter, the ministry called the cohort’s training “the first milestone of many to come on this initiative.”
“Training will continue and grow to include more nurses and additional medications for treatment of opioid use disorder to meet the needs of more patients.”
More than 6,000 people have died from overdoses due to toxic drugs since the province declared an overdose public health emergency almost five years ago.
This development comes after provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry imposed a public health order to give RNs and RPNs the authority to prescribe some controlled drugs and substances, said a Feb. 8 release.
Changes to regulations, protocols and training plans are in the works to support the order.
The province is also working “as quickly as possible to expand access to safer pharmaceutical alternatives to toxic street drugs,” the release said.
