Island Health issued two public advisories Friday after a spike in drug overdoses was reported in Greater Victoria and Campbell River during a 48-hour period.
“We’re still speculating on some of the information, but it’s better to be cautious as there was an increase,” said Dr. Richard Stanwick, Island Health’s chief medical health officer.
He said there were six overdose cases at Royal Jubilee Hospital on Thursday. Victoria paramedics said they responded to nine overdoses.
Victoria police said they were called to seven overdoses in half an hour.
OVERDOSE ADVISORY for #CampbellRiver. There has been an increase in #overdose in the past 48 hours. #StopOverdose pic.twitter.com/vksTkCC4jZ
— Island Health (@VanIslandHealth) October 27, 2017
OVERDOSE ADVISORY: There has been an increase in #overdoses in Victoria in the past 24 hours. #yyj #StopOverdose pic.twitter.com/jbADW0JeDF
— Island Health (@VanIslandHealth) October 27, 2017
Stanwick said they are trying to determine if a fatality reported in downtown Victoria could also have been an overdose, but toxicity results take weeks. The coroner is investigating, he said.
It is not clear what precipitated the increase in overdose calls, whether it was a particularly strong or pure drug being available, or if it had to do with social assistance cheques being issued this week, he said.
Vancouver saw a similar increase, and Stanwick is worried about this Halloween weekend. According to the B.C. Coroners Service, overdose deaths occur more often on weekends.
“I worry the party crowd will be a little less prepared than the experienced users,” he said.
“Fentanyl can be in your cocaine and crystal meth. Don’t be afraid to call 911 if something happens.”
Stanwick said until this week there has been a bit of a downward trend in overdoses and deaths, which he attributes to harm-reduction efforts such as overdose-prevention sites, naloxone and public awareness.
“I hope this is just a blip,” he said. In the first eight months of 2017, 158 people on Vancouver Island died from overdoses — about the same number of deaths as in all of 2016.
AIDS Vancouver Island was one of the first organizations to post a warning online Thursday about the reports of several overdoses in a short period.
Harm-reduction manager Heather Hobbs said a client told them about police responding to several calls.
Soon after, there was an overdose at the AVI centre on Johnson Street and the paramedics responding “said that it was actually much more than that and that many of the calls were from private residences,” Hobbs said.
The person survived the overdose.
Hobbs said she posted the information online to remind the community about safer drug use.
Safety measures urged
Both Island Health and AVI are urging the community to take safety measures when using drugs or in the presence of people using drugs.
For users, these include:
• Test drugs before doing a regular hit
• Fix with a friend
• If you are using alone, go to an Overdose Prevention Site (AVI, Our Place, Rock Bay Landing). More listed at: viha.ca/mho/overdose
• Carry naloxone and have an overdose response plan.
If you see some who is experiencing an overdose:
• Call 911
• Provide rescue breathing
• Stay until help comes
