Though the amount of overdose and drug-poisoning calls to B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) are trending down in B.C., calls have increased by five per cent in Victoria in 2024 according to new data released by BCEHS.
Last year, Victoria saw 2,381 overdose calls, the third-highest number of calls in the province, just behind Vancouver, which had 9,564 calls, and Surrey, which had 3,335 calls.
In total, B.C. saw 40,543 calls, which is down about four per cent compared to 2023.
Despite the upward trend in Victoria, Saanich saw 419 calls in 2024 which is down about nine per cent; Langford saw just over a 24 per cent decrease with 210 calls; North Saanich saw a 61 per cent decrease with 12 calls in 2024, Sidney saw a decrease of 35 per cent with 20 calls; and View Royal saw a decrease of about 25 per cent with 44 calls.
Sooke, however, saw a huge jump last year with about 137 calls, an almost 60 per cent increase compared to 2023.
"With the exception of November and December, BCEHS paramedics responded to more than 3,000 overdose/poisoning calls each month in 2024. The average monthly call volume, prior to the pandemic, had been about 2,000 overdose calls a month," noted the BCEHS website.
In 2024, the B.C. Coroners Service says 2,253 people were killed by unregulated drugs.
