Conversations That Matter

Ep 449 - Eight Deaths a Day Guest: Troy Clifford By Stuart McNish   Eight people in British Columbia will die today from a drug overdose – eight people yesterday, eight the day before, eight the day before that, and so on. On March 22nd, BC’s Emergency Health Service responded to 205 overdose poisoning patients – “a new provincial record” says Troy Clifford, the Provincial President of the Ambulance Paramedics & Emergency Dispatchers of BC. He continues to say, “On April 2nd, BCEHS experienced the nineteenth consecutive day in a row where we attended to more than 100 overdose calls. It’s taking a toll on the system and putting paramedics at risk.”   “Every single one of those calls for assistance brings with it tremendous risks to paramedics,” he says. “We’re first responders who encounter and adapt to a wide range of on-scene hazards at every overdose call. Paramedics, in addition to being medical professionals, need to be highly attuned to apparent and hidden threats [and] employ exceptional interperson