Saskatoon overdoses having an impact on Narcan availability – Saskatoon [Video]

As Saskatoon continues dealing with a massive overdose spike, those dealing with them on the front lines continue to feel mounting pressure.

Since January, Medavie Health Services West says they’ve seen at least a 100 per cent increase in overdose calls on a week-to-week basis.

“In a 24-hour period we’d see maybe five,” says Operations Manager Mike Schindel. “And now we’re up to anywhere from, you know, 20 to 25, and in some cases even more in a 24-hour period.”

According to Medavie, the volume of overdose calls has increased so substantially, they’ve started impacting their ability to respond to other emergencies.

“It does definitely make it difficult for our paramedics to be able to respond to other calls that might be coming,” says Schindel.

“And they’re holding and we know we need to get to them, but it’s very difficult to always free up an ambulance due to all these calls that are coming in.”

Saskatoon-based Prairie …