Pubdate: Fri, 15 Apr 2016
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Erin Ellis
Page: 6

OVERDOSES PROMPT PUBLIC EMERGENCY

Medical officer issues declaration as drug-related deaths, including
fentanyl, continue to rise

An alarming number of drug overdose deaths in recent months has
prompted B.C.'s chief health officer to declare a public health emergency.

The declaration, typically reserved for a contagious disease outbreak,
is the first in Canada, where a rash of fentanyl overdoses has claimed
hundreds of lives.

Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall on Thursday cited more
than 200 overdose deaths in B.C. during the first three months of
2016, a pace that would lead to 800 deaths this year if it continued.

The move is aimed at quickly gathering information on all incidents of
drug overdoses - not just deaths - in order to warn users and provide
help. That could include more opiate substitution programs like
methadone and suboxone and wider distribution of antidote kits.

First responders, emergency room staff and the B.C. Coroners Service
will now provide the time and place of overdose, which drug was used,
how it was taken, along with the age and sex of the patient. That
would be shared with provincial health authorities and compiled at the
B.C. Centre for Disease Control and ultimately made public.

"We can look at where the overdose happened to see if there are hot
spots or danger zones or places where we'd want to send harm reduction
outreach," Kendall said.

Fatal overdoses have steadily increased in B.C. since 2010, when 211
people died, reaching 474 deaths in 2015, Kendall said. Fentanyl - an
opioid 100 times more powerful than morphine - was associated with a
third of the deaths.

People who work on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside say they're
witnessing the health emergency each day. Coco Culbertson, housing
manager for the Portland Hotel Society, said the number of overdoses
began rising dramatically at the end of 2014.

"I would say it's probably been a state of emergency for some time,"
she said. "We haven't seen overdoses and deaths at this level since
the late '90s, pre supervised injection sites."

Data gathered during the health emergency will not be used for law
enforcement.

"We are focusing on the health side and trying to prevent overdoses,"
said Kendall. "If people thought we were sharing personal information
with police forces, they may be reluctant to call for help."
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MAP posted-by: Matt