In 2022, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) received 525 calls for overdoses in Campbell River.
BCEHS monitors call volumes across the province and provided a snapshot of paramedic-attended overdose and toxic drug poisoning calls for the year. BCEHS has been monitoring this since the province declared a public health emergency on toxic drugs in 2016.
Campbell River’s call volume is up 29 per cent since 2021, when 404 overdose calls were recorded. Calls of this nature in Campbell River have been increasing since 2016, albeit with a small drop in 2019. Overall, BCEHS says the increase since 2016 has been 75 per cent across the province.
BCEHS’s website says that the data is subject to change, as there may be updates to types of calls.
In total, 33,654 overdose or drug poisoning events took place, which is an average of 92 calls per day, or 2,800 per month.
There were two months in 2022 where the total number of overdoses or drug poisonings was over 3,000, and a new daily record was set on Jan. 19, 2022 with 203 calls in one day across the province.
Across the province, overdose calls were down five per cent in 2022, with Vancouver and Surrey both reporting 22 per cent fewer calls (7,827 and 2,864 respectively). Campbell River is 15th highest in the province, with only four fewer overdose calls than New Westminster and 12 more than Vernon.
Island Health was one of three health authorities that saw an increase in calls, with six per cent.
The other two were Northern Health, which saw the highest increase at 17 per cent, and Interior Health, which saw a nine per cent increase.
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