The province-wide launch of a new tainted drug alert system aims to save the lives of at-risk citizens; however, it begs the question, will those vulnerable people have the ability and/or means to receive the notifications?
Once someone is signed up to receive them, the alerts will come through in the form of a text, email, and through the Alertable app. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Tim McLeod acknowledged that not everyone has access to an electronic device, especially those who are most at-risk.
He says community partners who are in contact with vulnerable individuals might have to verbally relay the message to them.
“This alert will go out to anybody who has subscribed. The community partners who are having points of contact with individuals at risk who maybe don’t have a computer or a phone, they’ll be receiving these (notifications), and word of mouth amongst that community is a very effective tool,” McLeod stated.
There will also be paper notifications posted at community agencies.
“The posters that go along with the app will be posted and they will see it at community agencies that they may frequent,” said the Minister. “Whether that’s in medical clinics or the hospital, wherever those touchpoints might be. These individuals will see the posters if they don’t have the digital tools to receive the alerts themselves.”
An alert will be sent out when there are reports of many people in hospital with an overdose over a short period of time, more than expected ICU admissions or deaths over a short period of time, overdoses that are difficult to reverse with naloxone, and concerning substances in circulation that are causing harm or death.
“When people receive that message, our action plan has given them an opportunity to reach out, more addiction treatment spaces, easier access to those spaces, and when they’re in those treatment spaces, they are receiving a more holistic, wraparound approach to ensure that if they’ve chosen to walk the path to recovery, they can have long lasting effects.”
McLeod notes that there have been several similar programs in British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario, which proved to be very effective in warning the public of the dangers of illicit drugs.
