Saskatchewan Hospitals Overwhelmed by Overdoses After Site Closure

0:00Saskatchewan nurses are reporting a spike in overdoses, hitting hospital emergency rooms after Saskatoon's only supervised drug consumption side closed. Down. Bryce Boynton, head of the nurses' union, says workers are seeing way more cases, with St. Paul's hospital even setting up a special team in its ER4. Overdoses and alcohol recoveries. Some patients now landing in the ICU. Earlier this month, Prairie harm reduction shed its doors due to major financial shortfalls including a $2.1 million funding cut from. The province over governance problems. The site didn't just offer supervised consumption. It ran youth housing and handed out in the lock zone kits to reverse overdoses. Nurses on the front lines are stretched thin, pulling focus from other emergencies to handle this growing patient load. Meanwhile, Saskatoon's fire department has answered 195 overdose calls since the start of the month, calling it a heightened alert. This comes after the province two years back, banned third party clean pie distribution

1:02and tightened needle exchange rules to match returns. One for one, leading to more disease spread among users since they skipped clinic check-ins. Premier Scott Moe says they're ramping up police powers to seize drugs, adding detox beds, and pushing spring legislation for forced treatment on. Those unable to decide for themselves. Opposition critics warn emergency rooms will keep bursting at the scenes with this costly approach as the real impacts from losing these services start to show and see local news powered by AI. This is Calgary News Today.