By Dominic Abassi

‘It takes a toll,’ paramedics struggle to deal with overdose crisis

Jan 16, 2017 | 4:40 PM

NANAIMO — British Columbia’s illicit drug overdose crisis is a “phenomenon” not seen before and it’s taking a toll on the first responders fighting the issue on the front lines, according to a Vancouver Island director with the BC Ambulance Service.

Lance Stephenson, director for patient care delivery, says their paramedics are seeing overdoses everywhere, in all walks of life and in all communities.

“We’ve gone to million-dollar homes where people have utilized drugs for a period of time but have never seen the potency that we’re seeing,” said Stephenson. “It is taking its toll. It’s very sad, it’s emotional…when you’re continuously striving to save lives and you’re seeing the number of calls and numbers of lives lost because of it, it takes a toll on the paramedics and first responders.”

Data provided by BC Emergency Health Services shows paramedics responded to 487 suspected overdose/poisoning* events in Nanaimo in 2016, up until Dec. 20. There were 555 such events in 2014 and 2015 combined. The numbers also show paramedics in Nanaimo have administered the overdose-reversing drug Naloxone 182 times in 2016 up until the end of November, exactly the same number of times as 2014 and 2015 combined.

“It has been really hard on the paramedics and first responders being out in the field and seeing this continuous abuse of drugs…they’re going in and seeing people that are not breathing, sometimes people that are in cardiac arrest, all due to self-inflicted drugs.”

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Stephenson says they have geared up their critical incident stress group to deal with their paramedics on a regular basis, noting they are seeing an increase in cases of members going on stress leave.

“The sad part is, we’re sometimes seeing the same people two or three times a shift because they’re continuing to use and also the effects of the Naloxone is wearing off…seeing these patients over and over again is really driving the morale down.”

The fear of the overdosing largely is not registering with the “street users”, according to Stephenson. He says where they do see the sense of fear is with the recreational users of drugs like cocaine, who are overdosing and seeing the experience as an “eye-opener.”

Stephenson does note that while Nanaimo’s overdose numbers are up and may seem high per capita, the actual amount is no where near what emergency crews are dealing with in places like Vancouver. He says it’s not at the point where resources are being overwhelmed on the mid-island.

According to the BC Coroners Service, there were 25 illicit drug overdose deaths in Nanaimo in 2016 through the end of November.

*Note: These statistics refer to all suspected overdoses/poisonings, not just drug overdoses