New numbers released by the B.C. health minister and chief coroner Wednesday are showing a little promise when it comes to the overdose crisis in this province, but fentanyl continues to be a major problem.
BC Coroners Service says in the first eight months of 2016, Jan. 1 through Aug. 31, the total number of deaths from illicit drug use was 488, an increase of nearly 62 per cent from the same time period in 2015.
However, the total number of illicit drug deaths in July was 49, down from 55 in the previous month.
Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe says for the first time this year, the total number of deaths in August was smaller than for the same month in 2015.
Fentanyl remains a major contributor to overdose deaths. From Jan. 1 through July 31, 2016, there were a total of 264 deaths in which fentanyl was detected, about 60 per cent of all illicit drug deaths. That number is more than triple the number of fentanyl-detected deaths for the same period last year.
Last April, a public health emergency was declared in B.C. because of the overdose spike and the increased availability of fentanyl.
WATCH: British Columbia’s provincial health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, has declared a public health emergency due to the explosion of overdose deaths linked to fentanyl. Rumina Daya reports.
In July, B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced the creation of a joint task force to tackle the crisis of drug overdose deaths in the province, calling the situation “alarming and frightening.”
B.C. has been leading the country in responding to the growing number of opioid overdoses and was the first province in Canada to implement a province-wide take-home naloxone program.
But despite these measures, the number of overdoses continues to grow.
READ MORE: Number of B.C. fentanyl-related deaths spikes in first half of 2016
In Delta earlier this month, police attended nine overdoses within 20 minutes. Police say all the drugs were suspected to be tainted with fentanyl. The nine people who took the drugs are recreational users and thought they were using cocaine.
Surrey saw 36 overdoses within a 48-hour period in July.
Lapointe says the small reduction in number of deaths released today should not lead to any sense of complacency on the part of drug users.
“We know from our health and public safety partners that many deaths are being prevented through the use of naloxone,” said Lapointe. “Without the work that has been done to increase the availability of this antidote to opioid overdoses, I fear we would have seen many more deaths. But no one should ever assume that the presence of naloxone at a scene will automatically mean a good outcome.”
Comments