Opioid-related EMS calls drop considerably in 2019 for Medicine Hat

By GILLIAN SLADE on May 14, 2020.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade

The number of Emergency Medical Service responses to opioid-related events dropped considerably last year compared to 2018.

The provincial government’s fourth-quarter Opioid Response Surveillance Report for 2019 indicates the per-capita count for EMS for opioid events in Medicine Hat was 69. In 2018 that number was 105 and in 2017 it was 88.

The numbers for Lethbridge, by comparison, were 196 in 2019 and 336 in 2018. There is no data for Lethbridge in 2017.

The number of apparent accidental drug poisoning deaths related to an opioid other than fentanyl is not provided for the fourth quarter last year. For the first three quarters of 2019 it was seven for the whole of the south zone. For all four quarters of 2018 it was 22. That number was 12 in 2017 and 16 in 2016.

Last year about 20 per cent of fentanyl poisoning deaths had other substances listed on the death certificate. Methamphetamine accounted for 48 per cent. In 2016 that number was 29 per cent.

Earlier this month, following a four-month investigation, a large seizure of methamphetamine took place in Medicine Hat.

The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team said it was likely the largest methamphetamine bust in Medicine Hat’s history. ALERT seized 1.7 kilograms of meth and 20 grams of cocaine with a street value of about $127,000.

The number of people that are dispensed substances such as Suboxone, or the generic equivalent, by community pharmacies for opioid dependence, is particularly high in the south zone.

The government’s recent report says that in the last quarter of 2019 the rate in the south zone was about 31 per cent higher than the provincial average.

According to HIV Community Link’s website it continues to provide services in Medicine Hat by phone, outreach, harm reduction supplies and delivery services to clients. HIV Community Link still has an open application with Health Canada for a supervised consumption site in Medicine Hat.

12
-11