Substance use resources for emergency department teams

Senior woman holding caregiver's hands

In May 2024, the Ministry of Health released a new provincial policy called Substance Use & Addictions Management in Hospitals. The purpose of this policy is to enhance and standardize substance use care in acute settings and improve care for patients who use substances.

Resources for ED teams

ED Leadership including Clinical Nurse Educators can use these resources to support learning and training related to new substance use care practice requirements at ED sites.  

Policy direction and new practice requirements include:

  • Asking patients about substance use
  • Managing withdrawal
  • Support opioid agonist treatment (OAT)
  • Ensuring proper discharge planning

If you would like consult or support on implementing new practice requirements or training at your ED site, please contact regionaladdictionprogram@vch.ca

Logo for Substance Use Response Kit

SURKit is part of VCH and PHC's regional strategy to help reduce drug toxicity deaths

SURKit will be implemented across all VCH/PHC emergency departments to ensure more uniform substance use care, focusing on a non-stigmatizing approach to harm reduction, substance use stabilization, treatment initiation and transition of care.

SURKit background and site preperation

    • Introducing SURkit

    • Addressing the drug toxicity crisis in the emergency department

    • Staff resources

    • Staff resources for team huddles

    • SURKit implementation checklist

Harm reduction

    • Harm reduction resource package for emergency departments

    • Harm reduction and substance use resources

Substance use care and treatment

    • Hospital Care – Substance Use Guidelines

    • Buprenorphine/Naloxone (Suboxone) to go (BTG) kits in the emergency department

    • Missed dose protocol - buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone)

    • Missed dose protocol - slow release oral morphine (Kadian)

    • Missed dose protocol - methadone

    • How to identify number of missed doses in the emergency department

      for Suboxone, methadone and Kadian

Transition to care

    • Transition to care - next best step

      Discharge planning in the ED for patients who use substances

Emergency department posters

    • Client poster

      Talking about substance use can save lives

    • Poster 1 - Multilingual slides for monitors

      Talking about substance use can save lives - English, Punjabi, simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Spanish, Farsi

    • Poster 2 - print 11x17

      Substance use resources with QR codes

    • Poster 2 - print 8.5x11

      Substance use resources with QR codes

    • Poster 2 - digital

      Substance use resources with QR codes

    • Poster 1 - Punjabi

      Talking about substance use can save lives

    • Poster 1 - Simplified Chinese

      Talking about substance use can save lives

    • Poster 1 - Farsi

      Talking about substance use can save lives

    • Poster 1 - Spanish

      Talking about substance use can save lives

    • Poster 1 - Vietnamese

      Talking about substance use can save lives

    • Poster 1 - Tagalog

      Talking about substance use can save lives