‘It's a relief they are closing': Controversial safe supply clinic to close in Chinatown
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The clinic was meant to be a 'safer supply' clinic, using a harm reduction approach to reduce the risk of overdose through prescription opioids. Instead, public drug use, violence and overdose deaths have only increased in the neighbourhood, concerning residents and businesses.
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'It's a relief that they are closing,' Somerset ward Coun. Ariel Troster said. 'It was not working.'
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Troster said one of the main issues was that its primary physician, Dr. Suman Koka, was based in Sudbury, and dispenses prescriptions virtually.
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Koka runs a network of addiction clinics across Ontario, including in Hamilton and North York. He has locations in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie under the name Recovery North.
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'We saw an immediate uptick in crime, drug dealing, public drug use, disposal of Dilaudid bottles and needles all over the area after the Northwood clinic opened,' Troster said. 'Chinatown had the second-highest rate of overdoses in the city.'
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The Ottawa Citizen was unable to reach Koka for comment, despite repeated attempts.
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The loss of the Somerset West Community Health Centre's supervised consumption services added to the 'chaos', Troster said. This happened after the Ford government banned consumption sites within 200 metres of schools or daycares, which resulted in the closure of 10 sites across Ontario.
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'Taking harm reduction services away is not helpful because people need to be alive if they're going to seek treatment,' she said.
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Ryan Turley, a board member of the Dalhousie Community Association, said they were pleased to hear of the clinic closing, after facing a long string of issues with Northwood that caused 'distress' in the community.
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This included the use of Dilaudid, a type of opioid used to treat severe pain, which Turley said is often traded or sold for stronger drugs within the vicinity of the clinic. He said another issue they perceived was the lack of support given to Northwood patients after opioids were prescribed.
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'This also links back to the closure of the safe consumption and treatment site at Somerset West,' he said. 'There's nowhere for those people to do those drugs, where they can consume safely.
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