Opioid overdose drop ‘just a blip’

Dr. Andrea Feller says it’s likely “just a blip,” but for the first time in years, it appears that the number of emergency calls for opioid overdoses has decreased in Niagara.

An update on the region’s opioid overdose response and prevention efforts presented at Tuesday’s public health and social service’s committee meeting showed a one-month drop, reducing the call volume for the month to the same level it was a year earlier.

Feller, Niagara’s associate medical officer of health, said she was asked by a regional councillor a year or two ago when would the region “see a downturn … a bending of the curve.”

“I didn’t even try to predict such a thing, and I won’t even say we’re there right now, but I do want to note that we have a seen a downturn in EMS calls, and some of our neighbouring municipalities are seeing that as well,” Feller told committee members.

“I’m showing it to you in full assumption that it’s going to go back up, and it’s just a blip and it’s not going to be a fulsome trend.”

The number of calls for opioid-related overdoses in Niagara has been steadily increasing since at least 2017.

There were 496 suspected opioid overdoses that were responded to by paramedics in 2018, for an average of 41 calls a month.

In the first six months of this year, paramedics responded to 335 suspected overdose calls, for an average of 56 calls a month.

But in June this year, the call volume dropped to 46 — down from 68 emergency calls in May.

Feller said public health staff are researching the reason for the decrease.

“We are looking into it. We’re checking anecdotally on the street and we’re checking with service providers,” she said.

“There’s a lot of explanation for why that could be and, of course, if it does turn out to be any sort of lasting trend that maybe is showing a change from all the efforts, we will definitely let you know.”