Prince George has recorded the fifth-highest amount of overdose and poisoning events among municipalities in BC according to BC Emergency Health Services.
So far this year, paramedics have responded to 750 such calls – Vancouver has recorded the most incidents followed by Surrey, Victoria and, Kelowna.
The busiest month for overdose calls in the northern capital in 2024 was February with 195 followed by January, which yielded 186.
A monthly breakdown can be found here:
- January: 186
- February : 195
- March: 139
- April: 116
- May to date (as of 11 a.m. May 21): 113
According to data from the BC Coroners Service, 61 people have died from a drug overdose in Northern Health – 36 of those deaths have been tallied in PG.
Northern Health has the highest unregulated drug death rate among all the health authorities at 77.6 per 100,000 people – with Island Health the next closest at 54.3.
In terms of Health Service Delivery Area, the Northern Interior, which includes PG-Quesnel-Burns Lake and the Robson Valley has the highest drug toxicity death rate of 111.7 per 100,000 residents– the next closest is North Vancouver Island with a rating of 78.8.
The Coroners Service reports the vast majority of illicit drug toxicity deaths happen when people use alone because there is no one to call 9-1-1.
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