Downward trend in opioid overdoses: BC Coroners Service

The BC coroners service is staying positive when it comes to the overdose crisis in our province.

There were 102 suspected illicit drug overdose deaths last month, a 16 per cent decrease compared to the year prior, and a 19 per cent decline over the number of deaths that occurred in January.

Lisa Lapointe, Chief Coroner, says the trend has been going down over the last few months.

“Last fall was particularly bad, where we saw numbers as high as 146. Since, basically last summer, the numbers have been trending downwards. There were small jumps some months, but overall a slow trend downwards.”

The panel also presented recommendations to keep reducing overdoses:

• The need to provincially regulate and appropriately oversee treatment and recovery programs and facilities to ensure that they provide evidence-based quality care, and that outcomes are closely monitored and evaluated;
• The need to expand access to evidence-based addiction care across the continuum, including improved opioid agonist therapies (OAT) and injectable opioid agonist therapies (iOAT) access, as well as a full spectrum of recovery supports; and,
• The need to improve safer drug-use, through the creation of accessible provincial drug checking services using validated technologies.

Michael Egilson, Chair of the Review Panel, stated the north won’t be left out of the fight.

“Looking at community based drug checking services. Those could look quite different, depending on the density of the community, but the intent certainly is to be looking at the needs of both rural and urban populations.”

The government also announced it would expand opioid treatment to allow nurse practitioners around the province to provide medication to treat addiction like injectable hydromorphone, buprenorphine-naloxone and methadone.

Last year, between the months of January 1st to July 31st, Northern BC saw 31 deaths related to opioid use.