Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is unveiling more details of BC’s safe supply program.
Henry will be joined by Dr. Alexis Crabtree, BC Centre for Disease Control, and Dr. Alice Virani, Provincial Health Services Authority, at a news conference slated for 12:30 today (Thursday).
The province’s prescribed safer supply program was expanded three years ago and budgeted to run during this allotted timeframe.
BC was the first province in Canada to introduce this public health program.
The update comes after our province saw a record number of toxic drug deaths in 2023.
The BC Coroners Service says there were 2,511 suspected unregulated toxic drug deaths.
Last year’s figure is five per cent higher than the number of deaths recorded in 2022, which was 2,383.
In addition, 2023 turned out to be the most tragic year to date for both Prince George and Northern Health. According to the year-end report, 206 people within our health authority passed away from a suspected overdose last year – 95 of those were in Prince George.