‘Interventions’ needed to keep overdose victims from dying alone: BC Ambulance Service

The head of the BC Ambulance Service is calling for “interventions” amid statistics that show nearly 85 per cent of drug overdose deaths are happening to people who are alone.

“We need people to stop using drugs alone and we will be there, we’re not there to judge, we’re there to help,” said Linda Lupini, executive vice-president of BC Emergency Health Services, said.

“So we really have to look at interventions we can make in that group. It’s very tough to see this crisis take its toll on all these people’s family and friends and we will continue to do what we can but the main message is, please let us help you.”

Lupini didn’t say what form those interventions should take, but said something needs to be done to reduce the stigma of drug use, which too often drives users to consume drugs alone.

It can be a deadly choice. If someone is on hand to call a paramedic in the case of an overdose, Lupini said victims have a 99 per cent chance of survival; if the victim is alone, it’s another story.

Lupini’s comments come just days after five people died in separate incidents in Abbotsford in a single night.

Each of those people was alone and using drugs.

“To realize five individuals were suffering, overdosed, and didn’t have anyone there to call us is really quite depressing,” she said.

In the first eight months of 2017, more than 1,000 people died of suspected drug overdoses — more than in all of 2016.