Opioid poisonings have taken 34 lives in Red Deer over the first eight months of the year.
The latest available data is for August and two deaths were reported that month.
Alberta’s Substance Use Surveillance System shows opioid-related deaths have been on the decline this year since April and May when seven deaths were reported each month. In July, four deaths were reported.
During the same eight months in 2022, the city had 32 deaths, and by the end of that year there were 46.
In Alberta Health Services Central Zone, there were six deaths in August 2023, and 83 as of August for the year. During the same eight months in 2022 there were 74 deaths. A total of 111 people died in 2022.
Alberta lost 147 lives to opioid poisonings in August, and 1,262 this year as of August.
Related:
Fatal opioid poisonings reach 32 as of July in Red Deer
Janet Eremenko, Alberta NDP Critic for Mental Health and Addictions, extended condolences to all of the loved ones of 1,349 Albertans who died from any type of drug poisoning so far this year.
“We are losing six people every day, and these are not just numbers on a graph. Behind every number is a story of a loved one and of people hurting. Every death is an empty seat at the holiday table that could have been saved if the UCP government had responded with a harm reduction approach that we know saves lives,” Eremenko said in a statement.
She said new data shows that Alberta is on track for the deadliest year.
Hunter Baril, press secretary at the Office of the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, said the UCP government is committed to making life-saving treatment available to every Albertan suffering from the deadly disease of addiction.
“Across Canada, communities are seeing the impact of the deadly disease of addiction. As a government, we are committed to a compassionate approach we call the Alberta Recovery Model. For too long, governments have looked for ways to manage or even facilitate addiction instead of providing access to treatment and support for recovery,” Baril said in a statement.
“We support access to on-demand treatment through the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program with no fees and no waitlist. We’ve increased access to treatment province-wide with over 10,000 new annual treatment spaces since 2019. We will continue building capacity with the construction of 11 new recovery communities, including one that recently opened in Red Deer. Through the Alberta Recovery Model, we have removed the $40/day user fees that were in place by the previous NDP government to access treatment. Someone’s financial situation should never be a barrier to recovery. As we continue building these services, more Albertans will be able to access the life-saving treatment they need.”
Related:
There are multiple paths to addiction recovery, says a survivor
During the second quarter (May to August), Red Deer’s overdose prevention site had an average of 7,244 visits and 238 unique visitors.
Data showed a jump in the number of naloxone kits given out in Central Zone to reverse opioid overdoses. A total of 6,368 kits were provided in the second quarter of 2023, up from 4,130 in the first quarter.
Other options available to help prevent fatal drug poisonings include:
• The Digital Overdose Response System (DORS) which is an app for cellphones that alerts emergency responders if a person using substances becomes unresponsive to a pre-set timer. More information about the app can be found on dorsapp.ca.
• The National Overdose Response Service (NORS), a peer-run, peer-led overdose prevention hotline at 1-888-688-NORS(6677), is also an option if people use alone.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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