Overdoses worrying families

Photo: The Canadian Press

With the overdose crisis crashing over Penticton, a local non-profit says they've been fielding calls from concerned friends and family members in the community.

Interior Health's chief medical officer Trevor Corneil says previously reported numbers have shown little sign of slowing down, with between three and five overdoses between Nov. 23 and Nov. 29.

"That is, of course, very concerning," said Corneil, though he says it's not surprising.

"It was a question, in many ways, of when it would begin in Penticton, not if, because of the instability of fentanyl in the illicit drug market and some other manufactured illicit substances that are being used."

He adds that IH has heard of one or two deaths anecdotally in the past few weeks, but the BC Coroner doesn't confirm an overdose death for at least four weeks. Typically, just one to four deaths are reported per year.

That's been cause for concern for family members and friends of drug users, according to Pathways Addictions Resource Centre agency director Meyers, who says the group is seeing the effects of the opioid crisis.

"We have people coming in every day that either know someone or they, themselves have experienced an overdose," Meyers said. "And we also have had clients that have passed away recently."

Meyers says Pathways is working with several other organizations in the community, noting the group has been talking about doing a town hall meeting on the overdose crisis for some time.

On top of Pathways, Corneil says the South Okanagan has a network in place to support education on the topic.

"The positive for Penticton and the South Okanagan is that we've had three or four months in our own Interior Health emergency management structure and response to this," he said. "And so we already have in place, in the South Okanagan region, education ... through our own communications, through ministry communications."

On top of that, Corneil says Interior Health is rolling out the naloxone through various channels, including outpatient centres, public health centres and emergency rooms. He adds that the Penticton and District Community Resources Society have been working to provide naloxone kits to users and those who know users.

"All of that's going, so that's a good thing; is it changing things on the ground, we don't know based on the size of the numbers," he said, noting that provincial numbers are difficult to gauge with the issue coming up so recently. "But we also know that on an individual level, we are making a difference."

In the last three months, Corneil says a little over 100 take-home naloxone kits have been given out by Interior Health in the South Okanagan.