Tackling a prickly problem

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WAYNE GLOWACKI/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Street Connections needle exchange.... used needles collected in van. June 15 99

Six needle drop-boxes will be showing up around the city in an attempt to curb the number of needles discarded on the streets by intravenous drug users.

While the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has been running a needle-exchange program for at least a decade, discarded needles are still regularly found by residents, Manitoba Hydro employees and the city's public works staff, said Dr. Pierre Plourde, a medical officer of health with the WRHA.

More troubling is the small number of reports each year from people who have pricked themselves with a discarded needle, Plourde added.

A primary fear is that someone could become sick after being poked with a needle carrying HIV or hepatitis-infected blood.

"What prompts the need for these (boxes) is the number of discarded needles, and that's how one picks the best area to locate these boxes," Plourde explained Thursday. "It tends to be the downtown, Fort Rouge, Point Douglas areas."

The staff of Street Connections, an outreach and counselling service run by the WRHA, often respond to reports of discarded needles, Plourde added.

The WRHA does not keep track of how many discarded needles it recovers, spokeswoman Heidi Graham said.

During the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the WRHA's needle-exchange program distributed 350,000 needles but only collected about 240,000, Graham said.

Graham said while some of the 110,000 unaccounted-for needles might have been discarded at a pharmacy or thrown in the garbage, others likely ended up on the streets.

Plourde said he hopes the boxes would be ready to use in a matter of weeks, adding that the WRHA is also preparing pamphlets to help educate the public.

The price tag for each box, when combined with the costs of labour and maintenance, will be about $1,000, he said.

"When you think about it, $1,000 is not that much of an expense in a large regional health authority for something that has only got good attached to it in terms of how it can help.

"There's very little downside to having these boxes," Plourde said.

Manitoba Hydro and city employees have protocols for dealing with discarded needles, said Plourde, so those most at risk of pricking themselves are residents.

"The public may or may not know that they should be using tongs or very thick gloves," he said.

A major concern is children who may find a needle while playing outside and don't realize the risk of picking it up, Plourde added.

Plourde said while the WRHA has consulted with residents, businesses and agencies in the affected neighbourhoods, he's prepared for the possibility of negative feedback.

"The concern residents could have, which is, I think, a misconception, is that we would be inviting drug users to come into their neighbourhood by locating a box there," he said, adding that he's heard similar concerns about the street van operated by Street Connections.

"But we're actually not; we're locating boxes where we already know needles are being disposed."

Plourde said if the program is successful, the WRHA might look at adding more boxes.

Kari Enns, director of Siloam Mission's Saul Sair Health Centre, said her initial reaction is positive.

"It's a great opportunity for the community to keep our streets cleaner and our citizens safer," Enns said. But she added that helping IV drug users get clean through support programs and counselling should remain a priority.

"I think it would be nice to see programs for users -- more programs -- in place," she said. "Hopefully, one day these boxes wouldn't be needed."

Chris D'Souza, the community development co-ordinator for the Point Douglas Residents Committee, said that while discarded needles are an issue in the area, the problem is less severe than it was a few years ago. Still, he supports the needle drop-boxes.

"It's better to have them in a safe box than on the streets where kids can pick them up," D'Souza said.

He said Vancouver runs a similar program that has been very successful. "Will it work (in Winnipeg)? Probably."

arielle.godbout@freepress.mb.ca

Plan of action

EACH needle drop-box will be roughly the size of a large ice cream tub, with a bright yellow or orange exterior. Dr. Pierre Plourde of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said the boxes are specifically designed to prohibit people from tampering with them or sticking their hand through the needle slot. The boxes will be monitored and emptied regularly by Street Connections, an outreach and counselling service run by the WRHA.

The locations for the six boxes were chosen based on a significant number of discarded needles being reported in the area:

The southeastern corner of the Osborne Street Bridge

A back lane near the intersection of Osborne Street and Stradbrook Avenue, south of the bell tower

On Sutherland Avenue, near King Street

Near the intersection of Sutherland Avenue and Aikins Street

Near the intersection of Higgins Avenue and Waterfront Drive

Near the intersection of Main Street and Henry Avenue

Plourde said a number of other Canadian cities run similar programs, including Brandon, Saskatoon, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Whitehorse and Ottawa. Not all the programs are focused on intravenous street drug users. Jason Marchand, vice-president of human resources and support services with the Brandon Regional Health Authority, said their needle drop-box program was launched five years ago. The four boxes are meant for any type of needle, whether it's been used by a diabetic or a street drug user. They're all located inside or near health-care centres.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 14, 2009 A3