Close X
Monday, December 23, 2024
ADVT 
International

New Report Points To 10 Areas To Help Reverse Overdose Death Toll In B.C.

The Canadian Press, 17 Aug, 2017 11:24 AM
    VANCOUVER — The BC Centre for Disease Control is calling for the expansion of prescription opioids in place of contaminated street drugs as a way to combat the province's overdose death crisis.
     
     
    The idea to expand the prescribing of opioids such as injectable heroin and long-acting slow-release oral morphine is among 10 areas of action that came out of a meeting in June.
     
     
    The B.C. Overdose Action Exchange meeting involved 130 people including health professionals and drug users and resulted in a report released by the centre on Wednesday.
     
     
    Its first recommendation is to consult with illicit drug users and allow for education and training in overdose prevention.
     
     
    The centre's executive medical director Dr. Mark Tyndall says he heard over and over again that the overdose crisis is about more than just drugs.
     
     
    Other recommendations include support for pain management therapies, increasing the number of doctors and nurse practitioners trained in addiction medicine and countering stigma against drug users.
     
     
     
     
    The BC Coroners Service has said 780 people died in the province between January and June of this year and that the powerful opioid fentanyl was detected in many of the deaths.
     
     
    The death toll is almost 90 per cent higher than during the same period last year, when B.C. declared a state of emergency into the startling trend.
     
     
    Tyndall says he hopes the recommendations will be used as a guide to action.
     
     
    "It is a crisis that has a tremendous impact on people, people who live with trauma and addictions, their families, friends and the communities they live in," he says in a news release.
     
     
    Minister of Addictions Judy Darcy says the exchange is giving people with frontline experience a voice in the fight against overdose deaths.
     
     
    "We will be looking at the recommendations closely to determine how they will contribute to our work to implement a seamless system for mental health and addictions in B.C."
     

    MORE International ARTICLES

    US Names Kashmir's Largest Armed Group Hizbul Mujahideen As 'Terrorist' Group

    US Names Kashmir's Largest Armed Group  Hizbul Mujahideen As 'Terrorist' Group
    The US decision to declare Hizbul Mujahideen as a terror organisation led by an internationally recognised terrorist is "well deserved and long overdue", the Union Home Ministry said on Thursday.

    US Names Kashmir's Largest Armed Group Hizbul Mujahideen As 'Terrorist' Group

    Muktsar Man Beaten Up With Baseball Bat In New Zealand, Critical

    Muktsar Man Beaten Up With Baseball Bat In New Zealand, Critical
    Satpal Singh had been attacked by someone wielding a baseball bat in Takanini on Tuesday night, and investigations were ongoing.

    Muktsar Man Beaten Up With Baseball Bat In New Zealand, Critical

    Barcelona Terrorist Attack: Van Ploughs Into Crowd, 4 Dead

    Barcelona Terrorist Attack: Van Ploughs Into Crowd, 4 Dead
    Thirteen people are believed to have been killed and dozens injured after a van in Barcelona ploughed into pedestrians and two men entered a restaurant with guns.

    Barcelona Terrorist Attack: Van Ploughs Into Crowd, 4 Dead

    SHOCKING! Mom WRAPS BABY IN PLASTIC And COURIERS Her To Orphanage In China

    SHOCKING! Mom WRAPS BABY IN PLASTIC And COURIERS Her To Orphanage In China
    The woman told the courier man not to open the package but he checked when he heard the baby crying and noticed the parcel moving.

    SHOCKING! Mom WRAPS BABY IN PLASTIC And COURIERS Her To Orphanage In China

    Indian-Origin Man Gets 2.9 Million US Dollars After Bad Reference Cost Him Job

    Indian-Origin Man Gets 2.9 Million US Dollars After Bad Reference Cost Him Job
    Ramesh Krishnan had accused AXA Life Insurance Singapore of defaming him while providing references on his work performance in 2012, the Strait Times reported on Tuesday.

    Indian-Origin Man Gets 2.9 Million US Dollars After Bad Reference Cost Him Job

    Indians In Charlottesville Anxious After Violent Rally

    Indians In Charlottesville Anxious After Violent Rally
    A disquiet anxiety has gripped the residents of Charlottesville, many of whom are Indian Americans, after a rally of white supremacists ended in clashes with counter-protesters and claimed the life a woman.

    Indians In Charlottesville Anxious After Violent Rally

    PrevNext