Drug overdose calls come in thick and fast to the specialized paramedic designed to combat overdose deaths in Vancouver鈥檚 Downtown Eastside.
Save one life, and it鈥檚 on to the next case just minutes later here, in ground zero of Canada鈥檚 opioid crisis.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 as bad as it can get. I鈥檝e never seen it like this. It鈥檚 non stop,鈥� said paramedic Brian Twaites during a ridealong with W5.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been shifts where I鈥檝e done 26 responses in a 12-hour period. And that鈥檚 just my vehicle,鈥� he explained.
Twaites is one of the frontline workers W5 profiled in a new documentary called "48 Hours."
The epidemic鈥檚 death toll is rising, largely caused by cheap synthetic drugs such as fentanyl cut into the black market supply. Last year at least 1,400 Canadians died of an overdose.
In B.C., nearly 1,000 people died in 2016 of an overdose. W5 went to Vancouver to learn the lessons of the authorities 鈥� the community 鈥� and the users here.
It鈥檚 the worst health crisis in memory, killing three and a half times more people than AIDS did in B.C. at its peak in 1994.
An overdose call usually comes in as a cardiac arrest. That means the dispatcher sends all first responders, which includes firefighters.
In Vancouver, firefighters are now able to carry and dispense the opioid antidote Narcan, which is the trade name for Naloxone. It鈥檚 a simple injection and it can bring someone back from the brink.
And it happens multiple times a day for any crew member. The workload has Captain Darren Fairburn wondering when it will end.
鈥淚t鈥檚 frustrating, it鈥檚 scary, and it鈥檚 an eye-opener for me even after 22 years,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty sad. It鈥檚 not sustainable and it can鈥檛 keep going on like this.鈥�
His crew doesn鈥檛 spend much time fighting fires any more. Seventy per cent of the calls are medical, which includes overdoses.
Paramedics have also changed how they do business in the face of mounting overdoses.
鈥淭he crisis really hit us back in October,鈥� said Joe Acker, BCAS director of patient care delivery. 鈥淯p until then, we were managing the overdoses as we鈥檇 seen them in the past, since the 1980s.鈥�
Typically, the B.C. Ambulance Service would see about 40 to 50 overdoses each day across the province. But in November, that jumped to 135 overdoses a day. It鈥檚 stressful for the crews, but also the dispatchers, he said.
鈥淥ur dispatchers are essentially telling people how to save the life of someone who鈥檚 had an overdose, and that鈥檚 a very difficult job, especially when you鈥檙e doing it, sometimes literally, dozens of times a day,鈥� Acker said.
BCAS added new paramedics to the road, but also created specialized units like Twaites鈥檚 to be able to go out independently. They added bicycle crews as well to navigate alleys and get directly to users.
He says there is some good news: the death toll is dropping, and so is the call volume for his crews. In December, 5 people were dying a day. In February, that鈥檚 down to 3.
鈥淭he call volume for us is actually going down, which is incredible,鈥� he said.
Narcan is also in the hands of people in the community, which can be a volunteer in a overdose prevention site or a drug user using it on a friend. That could be behind the drop 鈥� but there could be risks that remain.
鈥淚 think the system鈥檚 done so well in educating people and providing home naloxone kits, that people are actually taking risks and not calling the ambulance, and that鈥檚 really dangerous,鈥� he said.
Twaites says the people who are using with friends are much safer 鈥� because then they can call 911.
But if someone is injecting alone, then that鈥檚 much more risky, he says.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of time where we鈥檙e not called in time, you know, people are alone, and it鈥檚 just too late,鈥� he said.
