BC Government trying to Span To Other Regions To Reduce Opioid Overdoses

The BC government has launched a new Overdose Emergency Response Centre to try and combat the continued opioid crisis.

The centre, located at Vancouver general hospital, will include a team of experts and full-time staff who will work with five new regional response teams.

Minister of Health and Addictions Judy Darcy says this new centre will help to expand to more areas in BC.

“the new emergency response centre and local teams work together to ensure we get more naloxone kits out in communities and too address the unsafe poisoned drug supply. The regional and community action team will also take action to expand drug checking at more sites across the province.”

Coast Health Dr. Patricia Daly says there are plans in place to help others in the province, but there’s a lot of coordination that has to take place.

“All health authorities have received funding from the new government and one of the areas where they were asked to submit plans is how they going to expand access to injectable opioid therapy. This is work we need to do with the ministry of health through Pharmacare through physicians around the province.”

Daly says the bottom line is the government has to move health access from outside downtown Vancouver.

so far there has been over 1,000 deaths related to overdose, surpassing the previous year.