Doctor says not enough supports in Hope, where toxic drugs kill at highest rate in B.C.

A doctor at the only addictions clinic in Hope, with apopulation of about 6,700, said the townis seeing more people killed by toxic drugs per capita than anywhere else in B.C., due to a dearth of treatment, support and reliable transportation.

Last year, 11 people died of drug poisonings in the town,about 150 kilometres east of Vancouver,the B.C. Coroners Service announced Thursday. That's a rate of 123.7 deaths per 100,000 people.

It's nearly triple the provincial average of 46 deaths per 100,000 people, and about 50 per cent greater than the rate in Vancouver (86.4), which saw the most of any municipality in 2023 with644 total deaths.

Dr. Aseem Grover, medical director at Fraser Canyon Hospital, says the grim news reflects the "precarious situation" he sees in Hope and many smaller communities he serves in the area.

He says harm reduction, detox or treatment services are "scarce" andpeople often have no way to get to appointments, counselling or treatment.

"Individuals in these small communities it is very, very extremely hard for them to access these services," Grover told CBC's The Early Edition on Friday.

"The reality is what we're seeing in the Downtown Eastside, it's a small microcosm of what's happening in all our communities."

WATCH | Doctor describes overdose crisis in Hope, B.C.:

'Resources are very sparse': Hope, B.C. doctor speak out about struggle to provide addiction support

7 months ago

Duration 1:56

Dr. Aseem Grover, who is based in Hope, in the Fraser Canyon region of southwestern B.C., says frontline addiction care has been challenging due to limited resources. With 11 deaths last year, Hope recorded one of the province's highest per capita death rates due to toxic drugs.

While relatively small in numbers, deaths in Hope have more than doubled since Grover started in 2016 as the drug supply has become increasingly contaminated and unpredictable.

He says more detox and treatment services are needed in the area, particularly in the more than a dozen nearby Indigenous communities, as well as more safe supply prescribers and psychiatric support.

Indigenous people are more than six times as likely to be killed by toxic drugs than non-Indigenous people in B.C. due to the ongoing impacts of colonization and residential schools, according to a 2022 report from the First Nations Health Authority.

Record year for drug deaths in B.C.

B.C.'s toxic drug crisis killed a record 2,511 people last year, and more than 14,000 people have died since it was declared a public health emergency in 2016.

Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe has urged the provincial government to follow the recommendations of an expert panel to expand safer supply, including non-medical models, alongside regulated treatment and recovery services in order to end the crisis.

Premier David Eby has said non-medical safe supply is not an option the province is considering, and his government pledged funding for additional treatment and recovery services on Thursday.

As a prescriber, Grover says a safer supply can help people use criminalized substances less, but some prescribed alternatives from urban centres are also being sold to people in and around Hope because they can't access it themselves.

"We're competing with drug dealers that are working around the clock and unfortunately we just can't keep up," he said.

Grover who once paid to renta bus to drive patients to and from treatment and appointments, and handed out naloxone kits, used to reverse opioid overdoses,to patients and drug dealers said people in Hope and other small communities need realistic supports close to them.

That should include harm reduction sites, detox and treatment facilities, and more supports for housing and mental health, he said.

"It's not just about pinpointing the number of deaths or the number of people in those communities to one provider, but it's really about ... [making] it accessible for these individuals that are vulnerable that need help," Grover said.