The BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) released their report on 2024 overdose incidents and Williams Lake tops the Cariboo for calls.
With 239 overdose-related calls in 2024, Williams Lake is well ahead of Quesnel, which had 150 overdose-related calls recorded. One Hundred Mile House had 22 calls related to possible overdoses.
But when looking at municipalities across the province with similar population sizes, the differences are vast.
Nelson saw 261 calls related to overdoses. Coldstream, saw eight calls related to possible overdoses in 2024. North Saanich saw 12.
Terrace had 424. Prince Rupert reported 84.
The BCEHS report states in 2024, across B.C., paramedics responded to 40,543 overdose/poisoning patient events.
This works out to an average of 111 calls a day and more than 3,300 calls per month.
This call rate was a decrease from 2023, with a drop of four per cent.
However, 2023 saw an increase of 25 per cent over the year before.
Prior to 2016, B.C. fluctuated between 10,000 and 15,000 calls a year related to overdose/poisonings.
The top five cities in the province for overdose/poisoning calls are: Vancouver with 9,564 for the year, Surrey, with 3,335, Victoria, with 2,381, Kelowna with 2,032 and Prince George with 1,758.
The BCEHS said their highest call volume per day was on June 21, 2023, when they recorded 221 calls related to overdose/poisonings. The three highest-ever call volumes per day were June 21, 22, and 23 in 2023.
Towards the end of 2024, there had been a decrease in average daily calls for overdose/poisonings to below 100 per day.
