2016 overdose summary

The number of overdose deaths in B.C. in 2016 increased 79% from the year before, this from BC Government and BC Coroners Service. There were 914 apparent illicit drug overdose deaths in 2016 across B.C. with December being the deadliest month.  The top three townships where fatal illicit drug overdoses occurred in 2007-2016, were Vancouver, Surrey, and Victoria. Vancouver had the highest number (215) and highest rate of deaths of illicit drug overdose deaths of all municipalities (31.9 deaths per 100,000 people) in B.C. in 2016. The most deaths (46% ) occurred in “other residences” which includes hotels, motels, rooming houses, shelters, etc. There were no deaths at supervised injection or drug overdose prevention sites.

VCH staff on frontlines of crisis

Many VCH staff and physicians are working on the crisis – from providing addiction treatment at the Mobile Medical Unit, to partnering with Atira to create a women’s-only overdose prevention site, to applying for Health Canada exemptions for new supervised injection services. Staff are using emergency room data to check in on people with a history of non-fatal overdose to offer opiate replacement therapy (ORT). Nurses and physicians at all 14 emergency departments and urgent care centres can now give patients at risk of an overdose a take-home naloxone kit upon discharge. There are now 71 non-acute sites throughout VCH where take-home naloxone kits are available for the public. VCH is running or partnering on five overdose prevention sites, to save lives and prevent further harm to those at risk of overdose, and the Mobile Medical Unit which is connecting people to addiction treatment.

 More info

For a complete list of VCH’s activities, and comprehensive info about overdoses visit www.vch.ca/overdose.