Saskatoon clinic says nurses are dealing with so many overdoses, they want knee pads

Primary care nurses at the Saskatoon Community Clinic are responding to so many overdoses, they’ve asked for knee pads.

Toby Esterby, the chief operations officer for the clinic on 20th Street in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood, told city council about the request Wednesday to illustrate the increasing demand for services to address homelessness and addiction.

He spoke about a report on the city’s community safety program at council’s governance and priorities committee meeting. Esterby began by quoting from a 2024 online news story citing many of the same issues facing the city today.

“Our role in community shouldn’t be responding to overdoses,” he told reporters. “I shouldn’t have to order knee pads for our staff to make it easier and more comfortable to do overdose response in community.

“That I am ordering knee pads is an indicator again of something’s not working.”

Esterby said his clinic has responded to hundreds of overdoses this year and that the number has increased each of the last two years. Nurses are asking for knee pads because they’re kneeling down while helping so many people, he said. 

He urged city council to devote resources to address homelessness and addiction, arguing such spending will reduce the need for responses from the police and fire departments.

The city’s community safety program combines the police and fire departments with private security, service providers and city hall departments.

The report says a rapid increase in demand for services has resulted in “sustained pressure on resources” of all governments.

WATCH | ‘Something’s not working,’ clinic representative says:

Overdose crisis so bad, some Saskatoon nurses want knee pads

Toby Esterby says nurses at the Saskatoon Community Clinic are asking for knee pads because they’re kneeling down while responding to so many overdoses.

Esterby told council hundreds of people will soon be using city buses after the province ended the ability for people on the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability program to claim taxi rides for medical appointments.

The provincial Ministry of Social Services said in an emailed message Wednesday no changes have been made to medical transportation policies for those receiving SAID benefits.

The benefits will continue to cover “exceptional travel needs,” the email says. Travel to regular appointments or prescription pickups must be paid for using the monthly provincial flat-rate benefit, the email says.

Esterby called Saskatoon “ground zero” for what is happening throughout Canada, citing the number of people who have moved to the city recently. Saskatoon’s population has increased by more than 50,000 people over the last five years.

“That’s an insane number,” Esterby said. “The population of Saskatoon has increased by the population of Prince Albert. And we’re wondering why there’s people everywhere who have no resources.

“This is what we need to talk about. We are the example of what is happening in every urban city throughout the country.”

Pamela Goulden-McLeod, the city’s director of emergency management, said homeless activity around Avenue C in the Riversdale neighbourhood has spiked sharply. A winter warming space was established in a former restaurant on Avenue C just south of 20th Street.

She said Commissionaires, a private security service, who patrol the area encountered about 300 unhoused people a day in January and are now seeing about 1,000 a day.

“So, we did see a substantial increase in that,” Goulden-McLeod said.

Council unanimously supported Coun. Holly Kelleher’s request to study increased service in the area and possible funding sources to pay for it.

Mayor Cynthia Block praised the work of police, firefighters and others who are responding to the city’s homeless and addictions crises.

But she said it’s “hard to understand” why water distributed by the Central Urban Metis Federation at a portable bathroom at its Pleasant Hill location is not cold. The city provides money to help run the bathroom facility and to pay for the water bottles.

“That to me is just unacceptable,” Block said.

Block got unanimous support from council to ensure the water distributed is cold.