Ottawa's head of public health wants the city to quadruple the amount of money it spends on picking up discarded, dirty needles from parks and sidewalks.

The bigger budget of $200,000 — up from $50,000 — would pay for a roving, quick-reaction needle pickup team to address concerns that the current program is too limited and understaffed, said Dr. David Salisbury, the city's medical officer of health, on Wednesday.

"When we get a specific complaint on a specific day … we currently don't have staff dedicated to be able to respond to that situation and do something about that," he said. "And we're looking to see if we can establish that as a capability."

Salisbury said the city's needle cleanup currently involves sweeps in specific areas of the city where needles have been discarded in the past.

Coun. Diane Holmes is to introduce a motion asking for the bigger budget at the community and protective services committee meeting on April 17.