A Winkler doctor who specializes in addictions treatment has noticed an increase in patients that require treatment for addictions to opioids such as fentanyl.
Dr. Johann Blignaut said opiate addiction is not just a city problem it's an issue in rural areas as well.
"I think we're underestimating the problem in rural Manitoba," Blignaut said. "We're seeing the tip of the iceberg – the stuff hitting the news and the bad outcomes."
What Blignaut said what is not obvious or publicized is how many people are abusing the drug and not dying.
"I would say there's been an increase. From what I'm seeing with my patients and my population here I'm seeing that there is a rise in it,” he said. "I've treated a few patients who've had problems with the use or abuse of fentanyl."
It hasn't shown up in the illicit pill or powder form in Winkler, he said, but it has in the patch form – which is prescribed by physicians to some patients dealing with acute pain in emergency rooms, or if they just had surgery.
"These drugs can be wonderful and can be very helpful to keep our patients pain level down. When we become really concerned is when opioids are used in an incorrect context context, so when people are using them to get high or if they start developing very chronic problems."
"What happens to opioids is we get used to them and more and more is needed to get the same effect and that becomes a real problem," Blignaut added.
Manitoba Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen raised the issue in the Legislature on Tuesday.
He said for family members who've lost a loved one to a fentanyl overdose "this is clearly a crisis."
“Based on what the Medical Examiner is advising me as of today, we have seen at least 24 overdose deaths where opiates of all classes were found to be present in the [toxicology] reports in 2016,” Goertzen said. “Sadly, we know that as test results come back from other suspected overdose cases, that number will rise and will almost certainly be higher than in the previous years.”
