Cause for spike in opioid emergency calls unknown
EDMONTON The number of opioid-related emergency calls in Edmonton more than doubled in May compared to last year.
Paramedics responded to 246 emergency calls last month, a massive increase from May 2019 when there were 108, Alberta Health Services said in a Friday news release. On May 29 alone, EMS responded to 16 opioid-related emergencies in the city, which is an increase from the average nine calls per day.
Marliss Taylor, director of Streetworks, said Friday the last two weeks were notably bad for overdoses.
“I’ve been a nurse in the inner city for 25 years and I have never seen anything like this ever,” she said. “It just feels really deadly out there for people. One of the people who recently died is someone that I’ve known for 25 years. (He was) a very sweet, kind man. We’re all feeling a great deal of loss, worry and anxiety about this.”
The harm reduction program provides a number of services including the distribution of naloxone kits. Taylor said the number of overdoses has been happening across the city and also in Calgary.
She said the rise in overdoses could have something to do with the formulas changing in the drugs.
“What people are saying is that there has been a change in the supply of drugs that are coming in,” she said. “That may be COVID related. It’s really hard to know.”
In April, the city had the highest number of reported overdose reversals through the community-based naloxone program in more than a year at 676.
Taylor said in order to follow physical distancing guidelines, supervised consumption services had to make as much space as possible, which impacted services.
EMS public education officer Alex Campbell said the numbers were alarming.
“We’re not sure why this is happening,” he said. “There’s a good chance there’s a different formulation of drugs on the market right now or people are using it in higher amounts for whatever reason. We’re still seeing the same percentage of people but there’s obviously a higher use. Why this is happening is anyone’s guess.”
Campbell said the number of calls in March and April decreased because more people were staying home because of COVID-19. But that has since changed.
“We’ve been seeing an overall increase in call volume but definitely not enough to account for this huge increase in opioid numbers,” Campbell said.
He urged anyone who is using illegal drugs to do so as safely as possible, including having someone check in on them, not using alone, do test doses at lower levels and watch for signs of overdosing. Signs may include breathing slowly or not all, blue nails and/or lips, choking or throwing up, clammy skin or making gurgling sounds.
Campbell recommended calling 911 for help and support and perform CPR if needed.
Meanwhile, Kassandra Kitz, press secretary for the associate minister of mental health and addiction, said Friday this year’s first report on opioid surveillance is expected to be released next week.