Hospitalizations dropping in Belleville after tainted drugs cause spike in calls
Prime minister says government will help provinces respond to 'significant concern'
After a surge in suspected drug overdoses pushed emergency crews in Belleville, Ont., near the breaking point this week, the number of calls is dropping back to normal, according to the area's head of emergency services.
Hastings-Quinte paramedic Chief Carl Bowker said there were nine hospitalizations on Tuesday, five the following day and two more as of 9 p.m. Thursday.
However, one call early Friday morning proved fatal.
The opioid crisis just didn't show up on Tuesday. It was the tainted drugs that highlighted it.- Hastings-Quinte paramedic Chief Carl Bowker
Bowker said paramedics responding to a suspected overdose around 3 a.m. found a patient in cardiac arrest and transported him to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"I can't confirm that opioids were the cause of death. That's not for me to say, but certainly it looks highly suspicious," the paramedic chief said.
The City of Belleville declared an addiction, mental health and homelessness emergency on Thursday, calling on the provincial and federal governments for support.
It came after the eastern Ontario community said 23 people had overdosed between Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Witnesses described multiple people collapsing at the same time.
At one point police shut down part of Bridge Street E. near a drop-in centre and asked the public to avoid going downtown to give emergency crews space to work.
Bowker said he's glad to see the call volume drop, but said the overall issue remains.
"The opioid crisis just didn't show up on Tuesday," the paramedic chief said. "It was the tainted drugs that highlighted it."
Public health officials for the region said earlier this week that it was too soon to tell exactly what caused the sudden spike in drug poisonings.
Bowker said he's proud of the work his crews have done over the past few days, but said it's taken a toll.
"We're starting to see a lot of burnout and compassion fatigue ... affect our crews, but also with police and [firefighters] as we continually pick up the same patients day after day after day."
Officials and community organizations have spent the past 48 hours working on a solution, the chief said, but they need help.
Prime minister calls toxic drugs a 'significant concern'
Neil Ellis, the city's mayor, has said he hopes other levels of government will step up.
A spokesperson for Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones said in a statement Thursday that the province is working with the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Unit to respond to "overdoses caused by a laced drug" and stop its spread.
The statement added the province's chief medical officer of health is in contact with all public health units across Ontario to make sure they have a plan and resources in place should their communities face a similar surge.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were asked directly about the issue during a media conference on Friday.
Trudeau said he'd spoken with Ellis that morning, noting there's been a rise in deaths caused by highly toxic drugs across the country, and describing that trend as a "significant concern."
The prime minister said the federal government will work with the tools it has to support the provinces, specifically mentioning more treatment and recovery centres.
"This phenomenon of toxic drug supply is not just hitting our biggest cities. They're hitting small towns and communities … right across the country," Trudeau said.
"It requires us to step up and respond because these are tragedies that are hitting far too many families and communities that don't have the resources available."
Ford said his "heart goes out to the families" of those involved, and he supports the push for more treatment centres and a "multi-pronged approach" that includes going after drug dealers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
