Overdose cases at shelter all survived

Every one of the 26 people who overdosed on illicit drugs at Our Place in January survived, some treated with oxygen alone to keep them breathing.

As a result, they did not join the 116 people who died of drug overdoses in B.C. last month.

The 18 deaths recorded on Vancouver Island matched the high seen in November, and was up two from December, according to a report from the B.C. Coroners Service. Overall numbers in B.C. were down from a record high of 142 in December.

Sixteen of the overdoses at Our Place occurred in its temporary overdose-prevention unit, said Grant McKenzie, the organization’s communications director. The unit provides a clean place to use drugs with paramedics on hand.

“If somebody is in there, there’s basically a guarantee that they are going to survive,” McKenzie said.

None of the deaths recorded in B.C. last month took place in supervised consumption or overdose-prevention sites, the B.C. Coroners Service said. The sites, including two in Victoria and one in Nanaimo, were opened in response to the drug overdose crisis in B.C.

McKenzie said Our Place has added a third booth for drug users to respond to the need.

Seven of the people who overdosed in the unit were treated with only oxygen, he said.

Opioids such as fentanyl and heroin can shut down the respiratory system. The chance of brain damage is mitigated if paramedics can administer oxygen and keep a person breathing.

Naloxone, which counteracts the effects of opioids, is typically administered in more dire circumstances, after someone has stopped breathing.

Having a paramedic on site means that person can help with overdoses elsewhere on site, McKenzie said, including the 10 that took place in washrooms, where people often go because of the shame and stigma attached to drug use.

“A lot of times when someone overdoses in a washroom, we come across them when they are down and not breathing,” he said.

Among those who died in B.C. last month, nearly 60 per cent were between the ages of 30 and 49, the coroners service said. Four out of five were male.

Fentanyl, a powerful opioid that can be fatal in small amounts, has been detected in about 60 per cent of the 2016 overdoses examined to date.

According to the coroners service, 922 people died of apparent overdoses in 2016, up from 513 in the previous year. Of the 2016 deaths, 153 were on Vancouver Island — 66 in Victoria and 28 in Nanaimo.

January’s numbers were down from December, but it still recorded the third-highest number of fatalities for a single month.

Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe urged people who are not already dependent to avoid drugs. “The continuing high number of deaths show that the risks remain extreme.”