Our 'Other' Public Health Emergency.

The graph, above, is from a presentation made by our provincial health officer on Thursday, March 11th.

It shows the top 15 causes of death in British Columbia in 2020.

Clearly, while a terrible tragedy in terms of absolute numbers, in terms of the percentage/rate of deaths  we have done reasonably well in dealing with the COVID19 health emergency (green bars) compared to many other jurisdictions (scroll down to 'deaths per million residents').

However, take a look at those blue bars in the graph.

They represent the mortality statistics from our other public health emergency

And, unfortunately, it is a longterm, ongoing emergency that keeps getting worse. There is also no vaccine to make it magically end.

There is, however, a way to decrease the deaths substantially and that is something called 'safe supply' so that folks don't inadvertently take bad stuff, stuff like fentanyl mixed with benzodiazepines.

The current provincial government took the first few steps to make a safe supply a reality a few months ago, but things seem to have stalled.

As reported by the Tyee's Andrew MacLeod, Green Party MLA Adam Olsen raised the matter in the legislature this week:


...B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry issued a public health order in September that allowed registered nurses and psychiatric nurses to prescribe pharmaceutical alternatives to street drugs.

But five months later, that health order has still not been put into action, and Olsen pointed out that over 700 people have died since the order was put in place.

While 30 nurses have been trained to prescribe Suboxone, an opioid replacement medication, critics say that falls short of true safer supply, which would provide pharmaceutical-grade versions of illicit substances instead of alternatives....



Clearly our PHO wants true safe supply to become a reality and, increasingly, so do law enforcement officials.

Which means we've got to get our elected officials at all levels to take things over the finish line.

OK?

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Thanks to reader e.a.f. for prodding me forward on this one.

Tip O' The Toque to independent ledge reporter Shannon Waters for flagging the graph on her Twittmachine feed and digging up the origin doc. 



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