Province-wide, there were 33,654 calls last year, which was a five-per-cent decrease from the year before. It’s the first time since 2016 that the number has gone down; prior to the toxic drug crisis, call volumes fluctuated between 10,000 and 15,000 per year.
“It's a very critical call to deal with and you really do need all hands on deck,” said BC EHS communications officer and veteran paramedic Brian Twaites.
“These patients are unconscious, they're not breathing, so that's a real emergency and don't hesitate to phone.”
While Vancouver and Surrey both saw reductions of 22 per cent, Victoria saw four per cent more, Kelowna rose 15 per cent, and Abbotsford saw a 20 per cent spike in calls for help with overdoses or toxic drug consumption.
DEATH RATE NOT DECLINING
The numbers are jarring considering B.C. is on track for another record year of drug-poisoning deaths.
One of the province’s most prominent drug analysts says the years-long campaign to provide and train people in the use of the overdose antidote, naloxone, is starting to have a big impact in urban areas.
“People helping each other is making the biggest difference,” said Karen Ward. “It’s difficult to think about how you could intervene … make sure someone you trust knows you’re using.”
The BC Coroners Service regularly provides information about where people are dying from illicit drug toxicity, and the data hasn’t changed: slightly more than half of all deaths are in private homes, with roughly a quarter in group living settings like supportive housing.
On Monday, federal government representatives will join with their provincial counterparts to discuss the decriminalization of several illicit drugs this week – a move intended to curb the death toll and widely supported by health-care professionalsand police.
DRUGS CHANGE QUICKLY, THE RESPONSE DOESN'T
When CTV News spoke with Ward in Gastown, she noted the toxic drug crisis had been running for 2,481 days and the drug supply has only become more unpredictable and volatile. She described it as “a toxic soup of random chemicals.”
More than 10,000 people have died in those years, and the province has appointed a minister of mental health and addictions to show its commitment to helping people. At the same time, however, it has struggled to ramp up the availability of treatment options, safe supply, and the housing that advocates and researchers repeatedly insist is the foundation for a healthier lifestyle that’s more conducive to recovery.
When CTV News pointed out that the drugs change a lot faster than the strategy to respond to them, Ward agreed and added that even the symptoms of overdose have changed based on the most prevalent drugs in each wave of the crisis.
“There is a need to be able to adjust and adapt really quickly, but we're not addressing it in a timely, emergency-oriented way,” she said.
Both Ward and Twaites reiterated the best ways to survive an encounter with toxic drugs: avoiding using alone, having naloxone handy, testing drugs if possible, and even using an app as a backup.
“Always call 911 if you see someone who you think is having a drug overdose,” said Twaites. “Our call-takers can walk you through those steps of giving naloxone, maybe they need chest compressions for cardiac arrest – they can teach you how to do that over the phone while fire department, first responders and paramedics are being dispatched.”
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet with Vladimir Putin in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for a national standardized testing process to be created in order to speed up the licensing process for doctors and nurses who are either immigrants or were trained abroad.
Mounties in Port McNeill violated a suspect's Charter rights by failing to allow him to contact a lawyer promptly after his 2019 drug trafficking arrest, a judge has ruled.
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The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
March 20 marks the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere, and, after a long, grey winter, Torontonians can soon look forward to warmer temperatures and sunnier days.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
Police are giving an update on last week's fire in Old Montreal that killed at least one person and left six missing. Fire services began partially dismantling the building over the weekend, uncovering one body Sunday evening. Several units in the building were unauthorized short-term rentals, or Airbnbs.
Two families were displaced early Monday morning after a fire ripped through a building in Montreal's Quartier Latin. No one was injured, according to the Montreal fire department (SIM).
One person has been confirmed dead and six people remain missing as police continue to search for victims after a fire swept through a building in Old Montreal on Thursday.
Travel nurses go from place to place, all over the world, filling in wherever help is needed. To assist with current shortages, some are in Saskatchewan.
Pile O Bones hosted their 18th annual tattoo convention at the Turvey Centre on the weekend where artists from around the country were able to highlight their talent.
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The University of Prince Edward Island Faculty Association says its staff has gone on strike after what it says are failed attempts to enter additional negotiations with the university's administration.
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Many Canadians are struggling to keep up with rising costs due to inflation. Wendy Gorman says pet owners are no exception, with the cost of pet food going up as well.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
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St. Patrick's day street parties in Waterloo, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau making an announcement in Guelph, and a woman charged with defrauding doulas round out the most-read stories of the week.
