‘We’re here to help’: Director defends new safer supply clinic operating in Ottawa’s Chinatown

A sign on the door at 838 Somerset St. W. stating Northwood Recovery. (Kimberley Johnson/ CTV News Ottawa)

The medical director of a new safer supply clinic operating in Ottawa’s Chinatown neighbourhood says it’s there to “protect the community and to serve our patients.”

New Dawn Medical is now operating a clinic on Somerset Street West, in the location previously occupied by the Northwood Recovery Clinic. Coun. Ariel Troster said the clinic was expected to close on Monday, but residents walking by the building Monday morning saw a clinic operating under a new name.

“It’s business as usual with exactly the same staff supposedly under new ownership, so there is a high level of frustration,” Troster told CTV Morning Live.

New Dawn’s medical director Dr. David D’Souza tells CTV News Ottawa he didn’t receive much notice on taking over from Northwood Recovery.

“It’s very, very important that when you’re leaving a practice, and this is (College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario) regulations that we don’t leave patients hanging, they have to have continuity of care,” D’Souza said Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s important when you leave a practice that you contact the right physicians who can manage and take over your practice. So, the previous clinic, Northwood Recovery, did the right thing by contacting us.”

He added that New Dawn didn’t receive any information as to why Northwood Recovery was leaving the location.

“The only reason we were given was that the Northwood Recovery could not continue in terms of being able to manage the number of patients and the needs of the community, and so we were happy to step in.”

Dr. D’Souza says the clinic’s number one priority is preventing the flow of medication from leaving the clinic winding up on the streets.

“We’re dealing with very, very potent opioid narcotics on the street that are killing people and we want to ensure that we treat those patients so that they don’t die of overdoses,” D’Souza said.

“We need to balance that with the safety of the community. So, we make sure that we have the right patients in our population. We make sure we have very good security protocols in place. I think we’re probably the strictest or the most stringent program in the province to prevent diversion of medications, which is used for those patients, should be used for those patients.”

• Safer supply clinic set to close in Ottawa’s Chinatown neighbourhood

According to New Dawn Medical’s website, there are over 20 locations across Ontario that provide treatment for substance use such as opioids, alcohol and benzodiazepines.

Troster says she spoke with the doctor overseeing New Dawn Medical on Tuesday evening.

“I’m really hoping we can work together to ensure community safety,” Troster said. “I just do think that there are some real problems with the fact that there are no provincial regulations and they have no duty to inform us when a clinic of this nature is coming into the community. There are no regulations saying that they need to provide the level of wraparound support that an organization like the Somerset West Community Health Centre was providing.”

The Northwood Recovery clinic opened on Somerset Street West in March, after initially operating in Hintonburg. The clinic billed itself as a safer supply site that provides legal drugs, like methadone, to help with addiction.

“The real genesis of this perfect storm in Chinatown started actually when the provincial government forced the Somerset West Community Health Centre to close both its supervised consumption site and its safe supply program,” Troster said.

“Both of those programs are being run to help people with serious addictions and it was being done in a way that was really accountable to the community.”

The Somerset West Community Health Centre closed its supervised consumption site on March 1 following new rules that prevent sites near schools and childcare centres.

Troster says since health care is a provincial responsibility, the city has no tools to prevent a clinic like New Dawn Medical or Northwood Recovery from opening.

“Safe supply is a really important health intervention for people with serious addictions; the intention is to ensure to make sure they’re not taking poisoned street drugs,” Troster said.

“When it’s done successfully, there are some community housing buildings where it’s done within the building and people are able to take their medication on site. This private clinic model, that seems to be proliferating, it has really become the wild west and we’re not seeing any provincial guardrails placed on clinics of this nature.”

Dr. D’Souza says the clinic has “stringent” guidelines and protocols when it comes to choosing which patients qualify for care. He added the clinic monitors a patient’s urine samples to ensure they’re taking the appropriate medications and witness dosing in the pharmacy.

“This is not standard across the country. There are many clinics that don’t have these kinds of protocols in place, and we’ve developed them over time using the best available evidence and working with law enforcement and public health officials to make sure that we have the best standard of care for our patients and the best protection for our community,” D’Souza said.

“I just want everybody to know that we’re available. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us again. We’re here to help and protect the community and to serve our patients.”