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Edmonton-area doctors are calling on the province to release more localized data on overdoses to better address the drug poisoning crisis.
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In a statement Monday, the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association’s Opioid Poisoning Committee (OPC) said they have twice requested the release of local geographical area data for opioid poisoning-related deaths and calls made to emergency medical services on the Alberta’s Substance Use Surveillance System (ASUSS) dashboard.
Between January and October of 2021, there have been 1,372 deaths related to drug poisoning in the province, the latest data shows, and there were 153 EMS responses to opioid-related events between Jan. 24 to Jan. 30.
“ It is imperative that this information be added to the publicly facing dashboard, and by extension that it be provided in a timely manner,” the OPC states.
“This information helps mobilize the resources and efforts in the communities to reduce incidents of harm and death, ensuring that those working on the front lines of this effort can be where they need to be. The information would not impact the privacy of Albertans but would identify and support neighbourhoods that are being most impacted by this crisis.”
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Letters were sent to Health Minister Jason Copping in December and associate minister of mental health and addictions Mike Ellis in January requesting the data, but there has been no response, the OPC said.
Ellis’ press secretary Eric Engler said in a statement the ASUSS is the most comprehensive reporting tool in the country “with respect to addiction-related harms.”
“We continually work to enhance the data available on ASUSS, for example, the recently added ‘location of opioid deaths’ tab,” Engler said.
The location of deaths tab provides statistics on the number of deaths that occurred in private residences lived in and owned by the individual, private residences owned by another individual, the public, hotels, and other facilities. In Q3 2021, 51 per cent of opioid poisonings occurred in private residences owned by the individual who died.
The last time the province publicly provided neighbourhood-level data was in the Q2 2020 opioid surveillance report . Engler did not answer questions on why neighbourhood-level reporting has not been provided since then.
“We will be happy to work with individual stakeholder groups who provide outreach services and help them to focus their efforts,” Engler said.
