Canada's OD capital

Kelowna's hospital is seeing more opioid users per capita come through their doors than anywhere else in Canada.

A recent report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information found there were 72 instances of significant opioid poisoning hospitalizations in Kelowna in 2016-17, a rate of 36.3 per 100,000 people.

This is more than double the Canadian average of 15.5 per 100,000 people, and well over the B.C. average of 25 per 100,000.

Dr. Trevor Corneil, Interior Health medical health officer, says the highest per capita hospitalizations appear to be in midsize cities like London, Ont., Saskatoon, and Kelowna.

“The overdoses are more geographically spread, so in Kelowna, that's across Rutland and all around downtown,” Corneil said. “It's not as concentrated, so that makes access points more difficult to create and to support.”

Corneil said that is one of the reasons IH is using a mobile safe consumption site to tackle the problem.

Additionally, he said in Kelowna, many people are using opioids at home rather than on the street, and these people are able to get to the hospital by ambulance easier.

“It's that slightly different socioeconomic, social determinants of health aspect, that's different about Kelowna,” Dr. Corneil said.

He says the higher number of hospitalizations is not necessarily a negative thing.

“The increased utilization is actually a good thing. It means that people are actually getting to an emergency room or access point and not dying,” Corneil said. 

Nationwide, the opioid crisis has been increasing hospital visits, up 53 per cent over the past 10 years and 19 per cent from 2014-15.