Health and Community Services
November 22, 2016
The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable John Haggie, Minister of Health and Community Services:
Minister Outlines Province’s Opioid Action Plan
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise in this Honourable House and outline our opioid action plan.
I had the opportunity to share this plan with the Government of Canada and our provincial and territorial colleagues at the national Opioid Conference and Summit recently in Ottawa.
This event provided another opportunity to hear the many different voices of those who are close to the opioid problems across Canada.
Having heard what other jurisdictions are doing, I am confident in the approach we are taking to manage this situation in our province.
Mr. Speaker, our plan will advance this fall, building on such initiatives as the targeted take-home naloxone program, which I am pleased to say will be rolling out in the coming days.
The action plan has many components: a prescriber awareness module is set to begin in January; the new regulatory standards from the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board will require all pharmacies to be connected to the Provincial Pharmacy Network by January 1, 2017; a Provincial Prescription Monitoring Program is under development; and, we will work to improve access to Suboxone.
Mr. Speaker, we recognize the growing epidemic of opioid use in Canada. Through this action plan, we are working to arm communities and health care providers in this province with the tools and information needed to respond.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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2016 11 22 1:50 p.m.