2 days ago
New safer supply clinic opens in Ottawa's Chinatown neighbourhood same day controversial clinic closes
An Ottawa councillor says it's 'incredibly frustrating' a new safer supply clinic opened in Chinatown on Monday, the same day a controversial clinic was set to close at the same location.
The Northwood Recovery Clinic on Somerset Street West was expected to close on Monday, according to Coun. Ariel Troster.
However, residents walking by the building Monday morning saw a clinic operating under the name New Dawn Medical.
'It's business as usual with exactly the same staff supposedly under new ownership, so there is a high level of frustration,' Troster told CTV Morning Live.
According to New Dawn Medical's website, there are over 20 locations across Ontario that provide treatment for substance use such as opioids, alcohol and benzodiazepines.
Troster says she spoke with the doctor overseeing New Dawn Medical on Tuesday evening.
'I'm really hoping we can work together to ensure community safety,' Troster said. 'I just do think that there are some real problems with the fact that there are no provincial regulations and they have no duty to inform us when a clinic of this nature is coming into the community. There are no regulations saying that they need to provide the level of wrap around support that an organization like the Somerset West Community Health Centre was providing.'
The Northwood Recovery clinic opened on Somerset Street West in March, after initially operating in Hintonburg. The clinic billed itself as a safer supply site that provides legal drugs, like methadone, to help with addiction.
'The real genesis of this perfect storm in Chinatown started actually when the provincial government forced the Somerset West Community Health Centre to close both its supervised consumption site and its safe supply program,' Troster said.
'Both of those programs are being run to help people with serious addictions and it was being done in a way that was really accountable to the community.'
The Somerset West Community Health Centre closed its supervised consumption site on March 1 following new rules that prevents sites near schools and childcare centres.
Troster says since health care is a provincial responsibility, the city has no tools to prevent a clinic like New Dawn Medical or Northwood Recovery from opening.
'Safe supply is a really important health intervention for people with serious addictions; the intention is to ensure to make sure they're not taking poisoned street drugs,' Troster said.
'When it's done successfully, there are some community housing buildings where it's done within the building and people are able to take their medication on site. This private clinic model, that seems to be proliferating, it has really become the wild west and we're not seeing any provincial guardrails placed on clinics of this nature.'
