he believes the rise in overdose calls is spurred by an increasingly toxic drug and compounded by a pandemic that keeps people from their family, friends and certain social and mental health services, he said.
“it’s kind of a disaster right now.”
saskatchewan health authority ceo scott livingstone said restoring mental health services,
some of which were put on hold during the pandemic,
will be a priority for the sha as it looks to its own reopening plan.
chief medical health officer dr. saqib shahab said the connection between the two public health crises is unclear, but that mental health issues can be worsened by unemployment, social isolation and travel restrictions.
“it may or may not be related to covid, but it’s one of the other public health threats that has been continuing for two years,” shahab said.
while paramedics don’t have the capacity or authority to investigate what specific substance caused each overdose they respond to, davies said there have been multiple cases in which naloxone had to be used more than once to revive a patient. to him, that signals the presence of more powerful drugs on the street, he said.
davies called for a more “proactive” approach to overdose prevention, noting the situation is costing lives and taking a toll on survivors and paramedics who attend those calls.