From January to August this year, 976 Albertans died from opioid poisoning - 13 in Medicine Hat.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Fewer Hatters have died of opioid poisoning so far this year compared to last, but with data showing no reduction in the number of opioid-related EMS calls year-over-year, the community continues to be affected.
In 2021, Medicine Hat recorded its highest ever number of opioid poisoning deaths at 21.
In the same time period, approximately 1,614 Albertans died from opioid poisoning, and an estimated 7,895 Canadians total in what has since been described as “the deadliest year on record.”
And while opioid poisoning deaths are trending downward in various regions across the country – Medicine Hat and Alberta included – opioid usage continues to be an issue of concern for health and government officials.
“While (the decrease in opioid deaths) is a sign we are moving in the right direction, provinces across the country are still in the midst of an addiction crisis,” Colin Aitchison, senior press secretary for the Office of the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, told the News.
“Addiction is a complex and progressive illness,” he said. “And there is no one solution to addressing this (but) we are cautiously optimistic about the continued downward trend.”
Aitchison pointed out that in addition to a reduction in drug poisoning deaths, the province has also seen a reduction in the number of opioid-related emergency room visits (by 33 per cent) and hospitalizations (by 31 per cent) since the beginning of the year.
That’s also true for the province’s South health zone (municipal data is not available for emergency room visits and hospitalizations), but doesn’t factor in that opioid-related ER visits in the first two quarters of 2022 were actually higher than the comparable time period in 2021.
And when comparing data year-over-year, the question is raised of whether there has been a reduction in opioid poisoning prevalence, or just a reduction in the most severe outcomes, as data shows opioid-related EMS responses in Medicine Hat sit at the exact same number this year as they did during the comparable time period last year.
As of Nov. 28, Medicine Hat EMS had responded to 96 opioid-related events since the beginning of the calendar year – the same as the number released on Nov. 29, 2021.
Katie Ayres, executive director of SafeLink Alberta, a harm reduction advocacy and support organization with locations in Medicine Hat and other Alberta municipalities, says such numbers are concerning but are in line with what’s being reported elsewhere across the nation.
“For the most part, every community in North America is experiencing very similar issues,” said Ayres. “So, I wouldn’t say it’s unique to Medicine Hat; but it certainly impacts a smaller community differently.
Ayres says her organization and others locally are working to mediate the effects of opioid usage, but such efforts take time and collaboration through a variety of stakeholders, as well as information sharing within the community.
“As a community and society, we usually hyper focus on what we can visibly see,” said Ayres. “So we tend to put a lot of the focus on the homeless population or more vulnerable individuals. But what we have seen with the more studies that have been done, is the vast majority of drug poisonings are being seen in private residences, with people often alone, and they’re often men between the age of 25 to 50 (who) work in the trades industry.”
While municipal data is not available regarding identifying factors of those impacted by drug poisonings, provincial data shows men aged 25-50 comprise nearly three quarters of all drug poisoning deaths. And private residences are the most common location for a death to occur, by more than 50 per cent.
In the first two quarters of 2022, private residences were the location of 75 per cent of all Medicine Hat drug poisoning deaths, with ‘other facilities’ comprising the rest.
