BC Nurses are demanding more options to battle the province’s opioid crisis.
The BC Coroners Service reports 136 British Columbians fatally overdosed in April, which is nearly double the April 2016 total of 69. The April number is also a 10% increase from March, and is now the second deadliest month for overdoses (144 people died in December 2016). Thus far this year, 488 British Columbians have lost their lives to overdoses, which is also nearly double this time last year (290).
BCNU President Christine Sorensen says this becoming too much for the nurses to bear both emotionally and physically.
Everyone is sick of people dying.
“These people are mothers, sisters, brothers, fathers, they are not wanting this to happen. They are looking for help and we need to be there to help them.”
A few recommendations she shared included more safe treatment options, earlier interventions, and more awareness campaigns. To find an effective solution, Sorensen believes it’ll take plenty of professionals working together.
“Between the government, health care providers, people who are living and working within the opioid crisis, those are the people who really know what needs to happen and we need to embrace communicating with them in order to make change.”
On a federal level, she says the Canadian government need to provide more funding and support needed changes. In Victoria, she’s calling on all parties to work together on the issue, similar to how the HIV crisis was dealt with in the 80s.
“The current Liberal government has committed to (finding a solution) as well as the BC NDP and Green Party members, so I think we can all work together and that’s what we’re really asking for.”
Northern Health is the only BC health authority recording slight improvements. There were two fatal overdoses in April, one-third of this time last year. In total, the north has seen 14 fatal overdoses this year, down from 20 in April 2016.
If this four-month trend continues, 2017 will surpass last year’s number of fatal overdoses (935) by mid-August.
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