Almost half of the people dying of toxic drugs in Richmond have died in City Centre.
Looking at data from the past eight years, Richmond’s medical health officer, Dr. Meena Dawar, noted 41 per cent of all deaths have been in the City Centre area, and 86 per cent were indoors.
Dawar was presenting information about the toxic drug crisis and how it affects Richmond on the same day the BC Coroners Service released its latest province-wide data on deaths.
By the end of May, more than 1,000 people across B.C. had died of drugs that are laced with fentanyl and other substances that cause respiratory arrest, and, if not reversed by naloxone, cause them to die.
The coroner’s data showed two people died in May in Richmond, bringing the total for the year to 10, two per month for the first five months of 2023.
While the majority of deaths have occurred in City Centre, Dawar reiterated the health authority doesn’t think the density of substance users warrants an overdose prevention site.
Her presentation included information about fentanyl-laced drugs associated with deaths in Richmond – last year almost 82 per cent of drug users who died had fentanyl in their system.
“We absolutely do not want people using alone,” Dawar said, saying there are “peer consumption programs” and a LifeGuard app that can be accessed. “Clearly, we want people using with their friends or family so someone is keeping an eye on them.”
There have been 157 overdose-related visits to Richmond Hospital so far this year. Last year, there were 448 such visits, of which 20 per cent were alcohol-related.
Dawar outlined a number of services for people with substance-use disorder, but she noted there is no detox facility in the city, rather Richmond Hospital has some detox beds and there are services for people to detox at home.
There are about 5,400 Richmond residents struggling with substance-use disorders, of which about 3,200 use alcohol as their drug of choice. There are more than 1,000 Richmondites who use opioids.
Toxic drug deaths in Richmond by neighbourhood (2015-2023):
City Centre: 65
Blundell: 10
Broadmoor: 14
Thompson/Seafair: 17
Steveston: 12
East/West Cambie/Bridgeport: 19
Gilmore/Shellmont/East/Hamilton: 23
