News

March 29, 2022 update:

There has been an increase in overdose events in the community of Fort St John. The reported substances have been referred to in anecdotal reports as “blue meth”, “green heroin”, and “speed bennys”.

Northern Health is re-establishing an orthopedic surgical service in Fort St. John to enable a higher level trauma centre and more complex orthopedic surgery to be provided in Northeast BC. Orthopedic surgical services will be increased in Fort St. John, together with other trauma-related specialties including Critical Care, Internal Medicine, and General Surgery.

As we all know, providing healthcare services in small communities comes with unique challenges. One of these challenges is balancing the services provided in a community, the demand for those services, and the staff needed to keep those services running.

Recently, there have been concerns raised around changes to healthcare services in Fort Nelson. We would like to provide some additional information around these changes and the reasons behind them to help better understand the work underway to reduce impact to health services.

There has been an increase in overdose events in the community of Terrace. The reported substance is dark purple/blue chalky substance, sold as down.

This substance is highly toxic, causes heavy and prolonged sedation, and requires more naloxone to reverse. Overdoses are happening when the substance is smoked and injected.

A new mobile overdose prevention service is now operating in Fort St. John to support people who use substances and help prevent toxic drug poisonings and toxic drug deaths.

As COVID-19 activity increases across B.C., guidance for when to get a COVID-19 test has been updated.

A COVID-19 test is not recommended if:

• You have no symptoms, even if you are a close contact of someone who has tested positive
• You are fully vaccinated (two doses), experiencing mild symptoms and can manage your illness at home. Self-isolate for five days. Notify your close contacts so they can self-monitor for symptoms

A COVID-19 test is recommended if:

Northern Health (NH) is aligning public health orders for Gatherings and Events with COVID-19 restrictions for the rest of BC.

The current NH Gatherings and Events COVID-19 Order has been in place since December 24, 2021, as NH and provincial public health officials have continually evaluated rates of COVID-19 activity, and the impact on health care resources. The north continues to see increases in the number of new COVID cases, while rates of serious illness and hospitalizations have not increased beyond levels seen elsewhere in the province.

Northern Health is planning temporary services adjustments to strengthen patient care due to existing staffing challenges and Omicron related COVID-19 staffing pressures.