Vancouver hospital pushes back on Surrey MLA’s claims about addiction medication

A Surrey MLA says doctors at St. Paul’s Hospital have stopped prescribing a specific addiction medicine, in part, because it’s getting sold on the street. But hospital leadership says that’s not true.

South Surrey MLA Elenore Sturko says a group of doctors have stopped prescribing hydromorphone.

“They’re taking their prescription and they’re selling or trading it for toxic drugs,” Sturko said.

A group of doctors at St. Pauls Hospital have stopped prescribing, and are now de-prescribing hydromorphone – or “dillies” as they are known on the street. 1/4 #bcpoli

— Elenore Sturko (@elenoresturko) May 11, 2023

However, the health authority in charge of the hospital is pushing back on Twitter, saying they haven’t stopped prescribing it.

We can confirm that physicians at the Rapid Access Addiction Clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital have not discontinued prescribing hydromorphone.

— Providence Health Care (@Providence_Hlth) May 11, 2023

“I can confirm that at St. Paul’s Hospital, we, collectively as a group of physicians and health care providers, are continuing safer supply medications. That includes hydromorphone, but also spans a host of other medications as a harm reduction strategy,” Dr. Seonaid Nolan, head for the Division of Addiction at Providence Health Care, said.

In clarification of her comments, Sturko acknowledges the hospital still prescribes hydromorphone, but questions how the health authority is giving it to people.

“They’re still prescribing it! Listen, are they prescribing it for the primary purpose of safe supply? The information I have is that that is starting to be pulled back,” Sturko explained.

South Surrey MLA Elenore Sturko says a group of St. Paul’s Hospital doctors have stopped prescribing an addiction medicine called hydromorphone. (Kier Junos. CityNews Image)

CityNews reviewed text messages that Sturko says are from various healthcare workers who work with St. Paul’s Hospital patients, and high-level members of regional health authorities. She wouldn’t share their names or how many she’s spoken with.

“That’s their primary concern — is that hydromorphone that has been prescribed to individuals with fentanyl addictions is not what these patients are seeking. They want fentanyl. The hydromorphone is not meeting their needs. These individuals are taking their prescriptions, they are then selling or trading them for the street drugs that they want,” Sturko said.

She says she’s also heard that young people are getting addicted to hydromorphone and moving on to other drugs.

Garth Mullins with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and the Host of the Crackdown Podcast. (Kier Junos, CityNews Image)

But Garth Mullins with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and the Host of the Crackdown Podcast, says there is no research saying diversion of prescribed drugs to the street is a new problem.

“If someone was diverting it, if someone was to get a pill they weren’t prescribed for — that would actually be safer than if they were scoring just fentanyl off the street here. That would provide safety,” Mullins said.

“The honourable member is just joining a pile-on — with Pierre Polievre, with Danielle Smith, people in Alberta, with Conservatives on the right, all over North America — who are now beating-up on harm reduction, beating-up on safe supply.”