By Spencer Sterritt

Nanaimo overdose prevention staff tracking unreported overdoses to hopefully save lives

Jan 23, 2019 | 4:25 PM

NANAIMO — There are significant gaps in the information available about overdoses and a local outreach team wants to provide the bigger picture.

The peer overdose witness response project is collecting stories from the local drug using community to investigate how many overdoses aren’t reported.

Since the beginning of December, they’ve tracked 29 overdoses where paramedics or police weren’t called.

Project worker Jeremy Kalicum told NanaimoNewsNOW he was shocked to see such a high number. “Honestly, I didn’t expect this sort of response. Even working in harm reduction and overdose prevention sites for so long, I had no idea of the extent of people not calling 911. It’s very concerning.”

When asked why drug users aren’t calling for an ambulance when overdosing, Kalicum said stories from users show a deep fear and mistrust of who’s on the other end of the 911 call.

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“People who use drugs are stigmatized and have a history of negative experiences with health care,” he said. “When these people are overdosing, they’re not calling 911 because they don’t feel comfortable. Or alternatively, they don’t have a phone.”

The data gathered showed six people did call emergency services when overdosing.

The project is part of a larger challenge put out by the Canadian Public Health Service to collect information on unreported overdoses both fatal and non-fatal. Monthly overdose statistics are taken from hospitals and the coroner, which Kalicum said leads to significant gaps in the full picture of the drug crisis.

“This is a problem health care obviously struggles with and something needs to be addressed. Maybe health care providers don’t realize what’s happening on the ground level with the people being affected by the crisis,” he said.

Grants will be announced in early March for projects selected to continue the challenge, with further funding announced in late June.

Kalicum said even if they don’t make it to the next phase, they intend to go forward regardless.

“Looking at the data being sent in, it’s incredibly important. We realize these gaps are really not something which should be happening.”

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit