B.C. launches phone line to provide same-day access to opioid treatment

In this file image from March 7, 2017 photo, a 35 mg liquid dose of methadone is shown. (AP Photo/Kevin D. Liles)

The British Columbia government is expanding access to drug-addiction treatment by launching a confidential and free phone line offering same-day connections to doctors and health-care professionals.

The Opioid Treatment Access Line can connect people in need with a team of doctors and nurses who are available seven-days-a-week to prescribe life-saving opioid agonist medications.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside says when people dealing with opioid addiction reach out for help, they need access to treatment immediately, making services such as the new phone line vital in helping those in need recover in a timely manner.

Opioid agonist treatment reduces the risk of overdose in drug users by using medications such as suboxone, methadone and slow-release oral morphine — prescribed by a trained doctor or nurse — to prevent withdrawal symptoms.

The province estimates there are at least 125,000 people living with opioid-use disorder in the province, with men working in the trades "overrepresented" in the total number of overdose deaths according to a BC Coroner's report from 2022.

Vicky Waldron, executive director of the Construction Industry Rehabilitation Plan, says in a government statement that it can be tough for people in the construction industry to ask for help and the new phone line may remove barriers that prevent workers from getting the care they need.

The service's cost will be covered under BC PharmaCare, and the phone line will operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2024.