2 Vancouver Island hospitals get unsanctioned overdose prevention sites [Video]

Doctors on Vancouver Island have established a pair of unsanctioned overdose prevention sites outside hospitals, in a bid to pressure the provincial government for more action on the drug crisis.

The physicians set up pop-up sites at both Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria and Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on Monday.

Hospital security moved in quickly Monday morning to move the group’s equipment off health authority property.

The group of independent physicians says it has noticed an increase in the number of overdoses on hospital grounds, often in situations where there is no one around to help.

And it says patients with severe addictions are often left choosing between battling withdrawal symptoms in order to access vital medical treatment or leaving the hospital to use drugs.

“It’s a weekly occurrence that someone is found with drugs in their hospital room and they are asked to leave the property,” said Dr. Ryan Herriot, a family physician and addictions …