In Hay River’s overdose crisis, the patients aren’t the same faces

“These are not the people we normally see.”

That’s a Hay River healthcare worker describing to Cabin Radio their perspective on the town’s recent overdose crisis.

Multiple warnings have been issued by authorities about extremely potent opioids – such as carfentanil – turning up in cocaine being sold in the community.

By late October, Hay River’s health centre and emergency responders were reporting more than a dozen overdoses needing treatment in a matter of days.

Last week, Kim Brooks – director of health services at Hay River’s health authority – said the situation had stabilized somewhat. Even then, she said, “we are still seeing one a day or every two days” in a town of 3,000 people.

But the biggest impression left on health workers with whom Cabin Radio spoke was the change in who the patients are.

In a small community, healthcare staff can see the same people on a regular basis. Vulnerable people who don’t have homes or are addicted to drugs or alcohol can be in consistent contact with the health centre, emergency responders and social services. Staff come to know them.

This time around, health workers told us, the faces are different. They said the people being affected by the recent string of overdoses are not, in many cases, patients the health centre had seen before in similar circumstances.

One said she had noticed more transient workers – people who come into and out of Hay River for their jobs but live elsewhere – requiring treatment.

Officials have warned that people who think they are purchasing cocaine as a recreational drug may have no idea that the likes of carfentanil are in the product, and consequently may suffer an overdose that they didn’t appreciate was a risk and for which they weren’t prepared.

‘Be careful of your decisions’

The town’s health authority says it has tried to address the issue by running information campaigns and making naloxone, which can reverse the effects of opioids, as readily available as possible.

For example, a HealthBox – essentially a vending machine for health products – has been operating in the town’s recreation centre for the past couple of weeks, stocking naloxone among other products available at no cost.

More: GNWT advice regarding carfentanil and how to help someone

“Communication is key,” said Brian Willows, the health authority’s public administrator, who used a town council meeting earlier this month (he is also a councillor) to raise the alarm.

“A lot of our emergency responders are volunteers. It’s putting a severe strain on our volunteer service, so we want to be able to communicate that this is what the issue is,” Willows told Cabin Radio last week.

He pointed to a video shared by the Hay River Youth Centre within hours of an initial meeting about the issue, communicating the basics about the presence of carfentanil in drugs circulating locally, and added the town’s fire chief spent time speaking with students about the risks.

“It’s not going to solve the drug problem, but what we’re trying to do is create awareness – not only for regular drug users, but for recreational drug users,” said Willows.

“Be careful of the decisions you’re making, because it may be the last decision you make. It’s really quite frightening.”

‘This should be a moment of reckoning’

One nurse in Hay River said earlier this month they had resigned from their position. They believe the town health authority’s resources aren’t being allocated appropriately, alleging that “genuine support is absent” for front-line staff dealing with this kind of crisis.

“Fifteen overdoses. In one week. In our town,” the nurse wrote online.

“This should be a moment of reckoning. Leadership at every level needs to reflect deeply on accountability – not only for public safety, but for how we support the very people trying to hold this system together.”

Below the nurse’s post, which was public, NWT infrastructure and communities minister Vince McKay, who is one of two Hay River MLAs, wrote: “We have lost too many great staff in Hay River and at some point an ‘arm’s-length’ organization needs to be held accountable.”

At a routine quarterly meeting last week, the health authority’s chief executive, Erin Griffiths, said the authority was considering introducing “staff temperature checks” in the form of surveys multiple times a year to gather feedback on concerns.

That feedback could help the authority “refocus if we need to,” Griffiths said.

The authority says its annual turnover of staff is much lower than the national average and it has spent time putting in place the likes of signing bonus and retention bonuses for “hard-to-recruit positions.”

Managers said they are expanding the use of nurse practitioners and paramedics to support front-line staff in times of shortages.