Taking action
Province unveils plan to prevent opioid-related deaths
Dr. Heather Morrison hopes the province’s action plan spares P.E.I. the opioid crisis rocking other parts of the country.
The chief public health officer says most of the opioid overdoses and deaths have been occurring in western Canada. She is concerned the trend may move from west to east, which has prompted Prince Edward Island to “do the best we can to mitigate our overdoses and deaths.’’
The province’s action plan was unveiled Friday.
Opioid-related overdoses and deaths will come under intense scrutiny with surveillance and sharing of data done between stakeholders.
A rapid response protocol will be activated when an increase in the number of opioid-related overdoses or deaths occurs.
Morrison says illicit opioids of a particular harmful quality, like those laced with the often deadly synthetic opioid Fentanyl could result in an escalation of opioid overdoses and deaths in P.E.I.
“So if we saw any kind of increases in overdoses and deaths certainly having a rapid response protocol in place based on our surveillance is really critical,’’ she says.
The action plan includes a harm reduction strategy with naloxone, a medication used to block the effects of opioids, being provided to Islanders likely to respond to or experience an opioid overdose.
Naloxone kits have been distributed to about 200 people across P.E.I. with further distribution planned.
The action plan also calls for collaboration on opioid supply with a formal prescription monitoring program and strengthening prescription and dispensing practices in the province.
Morrison notes that opioids, which are drugs that act on the nervous system to relieve pain, are key for dealing with certain conditions.
“There are times when opioids are very important but it’s to make sure that they are being used at the right time, in the right way and in the right amount,’’ she says.
“So I think that prescription monitoring is going to help do that.’’
Morrison notes there have been fewer than five opioidrelated deaths in P.E.I. this year. The number of such deaths has fluctuated between zero and five per year since 2005.
In 2016 in P.E.I., there were five opioid-related deaths and 26 hospital admissions for opioid-related poisonings.
The federal government reports at least 2,816 deaths in 2016 were linked to opioids and predicts that number “will almost certainly’’ surpass 3,000 this year.