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Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden
I agree that it is difficult to asses the effectiveness of these programs while they are so new. That being said, it is impossible to asses the old program as anything but a total failure.
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Which old programs? The six programs already in use around Alberta?
A recent report from the Alberta Community Council on HIV shows that these programs are enormously successful.
http://s3.documentcloud.org/document...bertas-Scs.pdf
No overdose deaths, decreasing needle debris, decreasing crime year over year, and increasing referrals from all sites.
Most posters in this thread are trading on a very narrow type of fear-mongering, and obviously, ignore the enormous pile of data that the SCS/SIS model is a tremendously successful front-line public health service. We should be investing more in these sites, expanding the number of treatment beds, and building accessible housing all across the province.
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The ACCH report also found that there have been tens of thousands of referrals done through the sites to other addiction and treatment services, including counselling and methadone and suboxone therapy. Referrals also included treatment for sexually transmitted infections, housing support and wound care.
Three sites in Edmonton counted nearly 29,000 referrals combined. Calgary’s number was under 1,000, which Hayward said was a result of how data is collected. Lethbridge had more than 5,000 referrals compared to nearly 200 in Grande Prairie in March.
“The SCS is an essential contact point and pathway for vulnerable people who face many barriers to accessing better care,” said the report.
“There is no other service in Alberta that has the capacity to fill this void of over 10,000 addiction and treatment referrals.”
Cost savings range from $200,000 to $6 million annually per site, said the report, referencing healthcare costs and diverting emergency services.
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https://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...ce-2017-report