Pubdate: Sat, 20 May 2017
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2017 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Dr. David Swann
Page: 15

ALBERTA NOT GETTING THE FULL PICTURE ON OPIOIDS

By any objective measure, the opiate crisis has affected British
Columbia far more severely than Alberta.

Both legal and illegal opiate use is more prevalent, and it was the
first province to see this unprecedented number of deaths due to
overdoses of fentanyl and other opiates.

B.C.'s response has been robust.

The declaration of a public health state of emergency led to resources
being mobilized across government departments and between all
stakeholders in a co-ordinated plan.

Their Provincial Health Officer reports monthly on the efforts to
combat the crisis, and the province has embraced early harm reduction
measures such as naloxone kits and supervised injection sites.

Despite these efforts, and an investment of $100 million to combat the
crisis, the death toll still continues to grow at a rate of nearly
four people per day.

Alberta's situation has not yet reached the same extremes, but we have
yet to see a comprehensive strategy that involves all the major
stakeholders, including physicians, government departments and
non-government organizations.

Alberta Health attempts to report deaths and drug overdoses every
three months; yet, the final total of opioid-related deaths in 2016 is
still unknown.

Nonetheless, mortality rates from fentanyl and other opiates still
continue to rise in Alberta, approaching two per day.

Naloxone kits are undoubtedly saving lives, but we are not tracking
how many, which is an important metric for gauging our progress.

Wait times for replacement therapy outside Edmonton and Calgary
continue to be too long.

There is a troubling lack of information that could help us get an
accurate picture of the extent of the problem and the effectiveness of
our solutions.

The recently announced $6 million from the federal government is a
welcome boost, but the province needs to be able to direct those funds
in the right areas to make sure they are used effectively.

Similar to B.C., this crisis requires strong, focused
leadership.

This includes a mental health and addictions experts who can develop
and implement a coherent and coordinated plan that makes proper use
all of the tools at the government's disposal and overcomes the silos
that have inhibited Alberta's response.

I have proposed to reinstate the chief addiction and mental health
officer to spearhead Alberta's opioid response.

So far, the government has refused, and also says declaring a state of
emergency is unnecessary.

There is still much to do to address this terrible, preventable
tragedy, but doing less than our neighbours to the west is not the
answer.

If we hope to get ahead of this crisis, Alberta needs to learn from
British Columbia's opioid response, and build upon it, and get ahead
of this crisis.

The lives of our parents, children, brothers and sisters depend on us
getting this right.

The declaration of a public health state of emergency led to resources
being mobilized across government departments and between all
stakeholders in a co-ordinated plan.

David Swann is the leader of the Alberta Liberals and a Calgary MLA.
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MAP posted-by: Matt