Doctors on Vancouver Island say they're setting up unsanctioned overdose prevention sites on the grounds of two hospitals this week because the B.C. government hasn't lived up to its promise to set aside space for the sites.

A group of physicians are setting up unofficial overdose prevention sites outside two Vancouver Island hospitals Monday, aiming to help people struggling with addiction – while also sending a message to the government.

An attempt by doctors to set up overdose prevention sites on hospital property in Nanaimo and Victoria were shutdown Monday by the Island health authority, forcing the volunteers to move their operations across the street.

The physicians set up pop-up sites at both Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria and Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on Monday.