Pubdate: Thu, 22 Dec 2016
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Authors: Stephanie Ip and Nick Eagland
Page: A3

OVERDOSE SURGE HITS CITY ON WELFARE WEDNESDAY

All hands were on deck for Welfare Wednesday, as an opioid crisis
continues to sweep the most vulnerable in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Wednesday was the busiest day seen by staff at the Mobile Medical Unit
(MMU) since it was set up last week to relieve the pressure on
hospital emergency wards, said Dr. Sunil Mangal, who was staffing the
MMU late Wednesday.

A total of 25 overdose patients were treated, compared to the previous
record of 15 in a single day.

Mangal noted there has been a lot more awareness in recent days among
drug users, but even so, the community needs to be vigilant.

Earlier this week, the B.C. Coroners Service announced the number of
fatal overdoses in B.C. hit 128 in November alone, bringing the 2016
total to 775. In 374 of those cases, fentanyl was detected. But since
no lab tests are available yet for carfentanil, which is 10 times more
powerful, it remains unclear exactly how devastating of a role that
drug has been in the recorded deaths.

On Wednesday, as social assistance cheques went out, community groups,
pop-up overdose sites, and health authorities prepared for the
worst-case scenario in the midst of what's already been an
unprecedented crisis.

According to a July 2016 report by B.C. Centre for Disease Control,
rates of overdose deaths are 40 per cent higher on weeks when income
and disability cheques are issued. The report also found that, while
every day of what's known as "cheque week" tends to record higher
numbers of overdose deaths compared to non-cheque weeks, the two days
immediately after cheques were issued saw the largest increases.

Vancouver Coastal Health spokesman Gavin Wilson said the only action
being made by the health authority "specific" to Welfare Wednesday was
to keep the supervised injection site Insite open 24 hours for the
remainder of the week.

"But as well, we have recently opened four overdose prevention sites,
established foot and bike patrols of DTES alleyways and deployed the
Mobile Medical Unit, which is acting as a satellite emergency
department. The MMU also has an addictions physician on site," Wilson
said in an email.

Sarah Blyth, a volunteer with the Overdose Prevention Society, was
busy helping drug users injecting and smoking drugs at an unsanctioned
supervised-consumption site behind the Downtown Eastside street market
on Wednesday.

Nearby, clients of Pigeon Park Savings were busy withdrawing cash
after cashing their income-assistance cheques. Blyth noted the
alleyway near the bank where the unsanctioned pop-up is located was
chosen particularly because of the high numbers of overdoses that take
place there, not necessarily due to its proximity to the bank.

"We've stacked ourselves up with lots of volunteers and, as you can
see, the alley's really busy this morning," said Blyth early
Wednesday. "We have lots of Narcan, so we're all ready to go. Our
volunteers are ready and hopefully it'll be a no overdose day, but if
it isn't, we're totally prepared to deal with it."

The unsanctioned tent has been up and running for months, though Blyth
said there wasn't a noticeable or anecdotal increase in overdoses on
cheque day last month. But when it rains, it pours - and it doesn't
matter what day it is.

"How it works is, bad drugs will go out and it'll almost be like an
outbreak and a bunch of people overdose all at once," she said.

Blyth said users are being encouraged to try only small doses at a
time, to ensure whatever drug they're using isn't tainted.
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MAP posted-by: Matt