Province Declares Public Health Emergency Over Fatal Overdoses
Prince George, B.C. – For the first time B.C.’s provincial health officer has declared a public health emergency to deal with “a significant increase in opioid drug-related overdoses and deaths.”
B.C. is the first province to take this kind of action and it will allow medical health officers throughout the province to collect more information in order to identify where risks are increasing and to take proactive action to protect people who use drugs.
The new powers have been billed as “one more tool” in dealing with the crisis and to help deal with the tragedies.
“Health authorities have consistently asked for more data that will help inform responses and prevent future overdoses,” says Dr. Perry Kendall.
“This is the first step in making that happen. Over the next few weeks, I’ll work with medical health officers, health authorities, emergency room staff, paramedics and other first responders and the BC Coroners Service to determine how best to collect and share the data.”
According to the Province there were 474 illicit drug overdose deaths in 2015, which is a 30% increase in deaths from 2014 (365). There were 76 deaths in January 2016, which is the largest number of deaths in a single month since at least 2007.
At this current rate, the Province says B.C. could see 600 to 800 overdose deaths this year.
The increase in the proportion of illicit drug overdose deaths for which fentanyl was detected was 31% in 2015 (2012=5%, 2013=15%,2014=25%).
Kendall says most of the deaths occurred in the Lower Mainland.
“The majority of cases are in the Lower Mainland but there is no region of the province that does not seem to be affected.
For instance in northern, B.C., there have already been 10 illicit drug overdose deaths in 2016. That compares to 28 in all of 2015.
In fact statistics from the BC Coroners Service reveal the number of illicit drug overdose deaths have been steadily increasing in the North:
2008: 8, 2009: 8, 2010: 15, 2011: 16, 2012: 19, 2013: 22, 2014: 24
“We have to do everything we can to stop this toll,” says Health Minister Terry Lake. “This is a public health crisis and it’s taking its toll on families and communities across the Province.”
Comments
Its horrible to hear of these deaths but collect all the info you want but its not going to help anyone.. We have heard of the overdoses from fentynal and its been all over the news..yet people are still OD’ing.. Junkie don’t care.. they need their fix.. its worth the risk.
We have heard for decades about what Smoking does to you and yet people still smoke.. some take it up later in life too..that blows my mind. To me its like slow suicide.. one nail at a time kind of thing..
Why don’t they focus on smoking or drinking more..we lose way more people to those than OD’ing.. focus on the majority…
Let them OD. Its an easy way to get rid of losers.
I guess, you are fortunate not to have your daughters or sons without this afflication to addiction to drugs. Yes, it is easy to say this about strangers, but what if these lost souls were your own blood.
Fortunate for me, I am not in that position. But, not all parents are lucky.
Everybody is entitled to their own opinion in this quasi democracy, but yours is ignorant, unfeeling, and mean.
Hespoke at 3:15 says it all.
metalman.
A little harsh there! Although I don’t condone drug use, but these folks are brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters of somebody.
drugs can take down the strongest person. start with the execution of all drug dealers.
My sentiments exactly. The people who knowingly purvey altered drugs, substituting the cheap filler of the day, one that takes addicts by surprise, do not deserve the mercy of our so called justice system.
Street level pushers and mules and drug house managers are just tools, to be manipulated by the kingpins, and are often addicted themselves. I’m talking about the ones at the top, they need to go.
metalman.
Maybe the province should declare an emergency over all the scumbag gang bangers and other criminals that are causing it all. Before we take care of the problem first.
My brother died from govt supplied methadone while in their care. Go figure.
It is a shame to hear someone applaud the death of sick people. Drug usage isn’t so simple as a person needs to clean up it is a sign of a much deeper problem or trauma that someone is suffering from. Most drug usage stems from people self medicating to cope with mental illness. If a Diabetic died of a medication error people would not say the same harsh things as the person who wrote
“Let them OD. It’s an easy way to get rid of losers”.
My heart goes out to the families who have lost troubled loved one to this insidious drug.
What troubles me is that from a business point of view it is bad business to kill off your customer base …. do we have some weird and cruel vigilantes out there?
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