Experts call for more co-ordination in addiction treatment, less stigma
VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s approach to treating addiction amounts to “a series of disconnected silos” that in some instances increases the likelihood someone will overdose, says the province’s chief medical officer.
Perry Kendall said a patient who goes through withdrawal and returns to the community without proper support and then relapses is seven times more likely to overdose than if they had remained on illegal drugs. This is because of the speed with which the body loses its tolerance to opioids, he added.
“People say the system is broken, but that’s a misstatement because it implies there was a system,” said Kendall, speaking at a Canadian Mental Health Association conference in Vancouver on Wednesday.
“A system is defined as a series of interlinked parts that function to make a whole.”