![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1764749233_845_default.jpg\")
CBC News requested through access to information a list of controlled drug loss and theft reports from 2020 until August 2025. (CBC News Graphics)<\/p>\nPolice in Newfoundland and Labrador say they have finished their investigation into a break and enter and theft of an unknown amount of narcotics from a children\u2019s hospital in the capital city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary confirmed for CBC News that police were called to the Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation Centre around 7 a.m. on June 30.<\/p>\n
Const. James Cadigan said the break and enter happened at a pharmaceutical cabinet containing narcotics. He said he could not confirm whether or not more than one cabinet was targeted, and did not provide details on the amount of drugs taken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The RNC said its investigation has now concluded and there was insufficient evidence to proceed with charges. <\/p>\n
Records obtained by CBC News through access to information suggest this is not the only time law enforcement has gotten involved when drugs went missing from a health facility in the province.<\/p>\n
And the Janeway narcotics are far from the only drugs on the missing list from institutions that provide health care, including long-term care and correctional centres. <\/p>\n
Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services did not notify the public about the Janeway theft.<\/p>\n
However, in an email sent to employees on July 7 and obtained by CBC News, hospital management acknowledged there were concerns surrounding safety and security.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand your worries about the recent incidents and ongoing investigations within the building,\u201d\u00a0said the email sent from Janeway management.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease know that we take your concerns regarding these issues very seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
The email noted that security had been increased, \u201calong with enhanced surveillance methods in multiple locations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The email did not specify details of those incidents and investigations. <\/p>\n
How often do drugs go missing?<\/p>\n
CBC News requested data through access to information on the number of reported controlled drug losses at health facilities across Newfoundland and Labrador, from 2020 to mid-August of this year.<\/p>\n
The data shows there have been at least 98 instances of missing medication, though in some cases multiple medications were reported missing on the same date at the same facility. <\/p>\n
In many cases, there were reports of a missing pill or patch. The largest number of reports were made in 2023.<\/p>\n
Two portions of the document are redacted, claiming it could interfere with or harm a law enforcement matter. <\/p>\n
NLHS CEO Pat Parfrey declined a CBC News interview request on this topic.<\/p>\n
However, in an emailed response to questions, NLHS spokesperson Adam Randell said they are “unable” to provide details on that second incident of potential police involvement.<\/p>\n
CBC News also asked for information on which cases were suspected theft, as opposed to human error, without success.<\/p>\n
“We are unable to provide further details regarding reported drug losses,” Randell said.<\/p>\n
“Where appropriate, matters are turned over to the police for investigation.”<\/p>\n
CBC News requested through access to information a list of controlled drug loss and theft reports from 2020 until August 2025. (CBC News Graphics)<\/p>\n
Lorazepam and morphine are among the most commonly missing medications. There have also been multiple reports of dangerous and addictive painkillers like fentanyl and hydromorphone being unaccounted for. <\/p>\n
In March 2021, 100 lorazepam tablets were reported missing from the former Waterford Hospital. Seven months later, the same amount was reported taken from Carbonear General Hospital.<\/p>\n
The RCMP said lorazepam \u2014 more commonly known by its brand name Ativan \u2014 goes for approximately $5 per pill on the street in the province. The street value of fentanyl is much higher, with a range from $60 to $500.<\/p>\n
Rita Dhami, chief pharmacy officer of the Canadian Society of Healthcare-Systems Pharmacy, said any theft or drug loss \u2014 of any amount \u2014 is a concern.<\/p>\n
“We want to ensure that hospitals don’t become a source of harm for the larger opioid crisis that we have going on,” Dhami said in a recent interview. <\/p>\n
“Even with policies and procedures in place, we recognize that gaps can occur \u2026 There’s no single fix.”<\/p>\n
In 2019, the society released a number of guidelines for hospitals to follow, including safe storage, access to controlled drugs, monitoring usage and auditing, and reporting when drugs are lost. <\/p>\n
It calls for a diversion prevention specialist and committee to lead these efforts in each hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Randell, the provincial health authority doesn’t have a dedicated specialist or established committee that solely focuses on diversion.<\/p>\n
Randell indicated that several programs work together to prevent drug diversion and theft within the health authority. <\/p>\n
“NL Health Services acknowledges the risk of medication theft (or drug diversion), which is a safety concern in all health-care settings and has policies and procedures in place to prevent, identify, analyze, and learn from such incidents,” Randell said. <\/p>\n
WATCH | What the data says about missing medication from hospitals:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1764749233_10_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Police probed missing drugs at children\u2019s hospital in St. John\u2019s<\/p>\n
Records obtained by CBC News through access to information suggest law enforcement has been looking into at least two cases of missing drugs from health-care facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador. The CBC\u2019s Ariana Kelland reports.<\/p>\n
Dhami said her organization’s guidelines are just that \u2014 guidelines. <\/p>\n
“They’re voluntary to implement, but it’s widely recognized that these represent the national standard of best practices,” she said. <\/p>\n
Randell said NLHS has policies and procedures in place that comply with federal and provincial regulatory requirements around the distribution of narcotics and controlled substances.<\/p>\n
“NL Health Services adheres to recognized industry security standards and applicable regulatory requirements to ensure the secure storage of all medications,” Randell said. <\/p>\n
“Security measures and best practices are continually reviewed and implemented to mitigate the risk of drug diversions.” <\/p>\n
Download our\u00a0free CBC News app<\/a>\u00a0to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our\u00a0daily headlines newsletter here<\/a>. Click\u00a0here to visit our landing page<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Police in Newfoundland and Labrador say they have finished their investigation into a break and enter and theft…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":{"0":"post-322290","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}