Pubdate: Tue, 14 Apr 2015 Source: Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN) Copyright: 2015 Prince Albert Daily Herald Contact: http://www.paherald.sk.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1918 Author: Tyler Clarke Page: A1 UNACCOUNTED FOR NEEDLES TOTAL 59,671 Number represents 95 per cent return rate to Straight to the Point exchange Of the 1,203,382 needles handed out to intravenous drug users in Prince Albert between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014, 59,671 are unaccounted for. This represents a return rate of 95 per cent of the needles handed out at the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region's Straight to the Point Harm Reduction Program's needle exchange. On Thursday, members of the Prince Albert Fire Department walked through a field littered with thousands of used needles while attending a grass fire east of the Central Avenue viaduct. "It's been bit of a- I wouldn't say the centre of needle activity - but close to it," battalion chief Gerald Parks said of the area, noting that firefighters must remain cognizant or their surroundings so as to not prick themselves. On Friday, Coun. Lee Atkinson found a pile of dozens of used needles and other drug paraphernalia dumped outside his home in the city's midtown area. It wasn't too surprising a find, he said. Evidence of intravenous drug use is a common sight in his neighbourhood. A couple years ago, Mayor Greg Dionne proposed a "needles for cash" incentive, wherein trained individuals would be paid to collect the needles that are strewn about the city. He brought the idea to the Ministry of Health, whom Dionne said "didn't even consider it." Something needs to be done about the city's needle problem, both with its underlying social drivers and with the needle exchange program itself, Dionne said. The question that's being asked now is; What's the solution? "I know that some of the councillors are disturbed we'll be bringing this up again," Dionne said. "It's becoming a problem." This past year's level of unaccounted needles (59,671) is down from the previous operational year, when their shortfall was 81,196. It's difficult to say why fewer needles were accounted for this past year, Prince Albert Parkland Health Region communications officer Doug Dahl said. In addition to providing for locals, the program gives needles to people from outside of Prince Albert who might take their needles outside of the community, he said, noting that this might account for some of the unaccounted-for needles. On the flipside, those outside of the community might also bring needles into Prince Albert. The Prince Albert Parkland Health Region's Straight to the Point Harm Reduction Program's needle exchange operates under the same Ministry of Health policies that needle exchanges across the province operate under. Under this policy, packages of 10 or 20 needles are handed out per person, per day, with no questions asked or a requirement made that needles are returned. If recipients want more needles than that, they are required to offer a one-for-one needle exchange. Under these guidelines, Dionne noted that the program is more of a "needle giveaway" than an "exchange." [sidebar] 1,203,382: Needles handed out in Prince Albert between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014 1,143,711: Needles collected in Prince Albert between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014 59,671: Unaccounted for needles handed out in Prince Albert between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014 4,466,414: Needles handed out throughout Saskatchewan between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014 31,803: Extra needles returned province wide -- a 101 per cent return rate indicating that needles are being returned form sources other than provincially funded programs 11.4: People in Saskatchewan with HIV per 100,000 people in 2013 -- the highest rate for a province or territory in Canada - --- MAP posted-by: Matt