Crisis of brain injuries points to need for more supports

The Cridge Centre has been a leader in brain injury services in BC for over 30 years, and more recently has provided the only dual-stream service in Canada for women who have experienced a brain injury as a result of intimate partner violence.

But the scope of an emerging crisis of brain injury related to the toxic-drug issue is highlighting just how much more focus needs to be put on brain injury supports. Uncounted thousands of British Columbians are likely now living with a brain injury after being revived from a drug overdose.

In 2024 alone, some 200 people are dying every month from toxic drugs in BC. Drug poisonings hit that grim mark for the first time in June 2020, and have largely stayed there ever since.

But those are the deaths. What gets forgotten is the roughly 1,800 people a month who BC paramedics revive from an otherwise fatal overdose by giving them Naloxone. The drug works by binding to the body’s opioid receptors, providing 20 to 30 minutes of grace time so the person can get to the hospital for full detoxification.

The drug is a life-saver if administered two to five minutes after an otherwise-fatal opioid poisoning. But brain cells start dying after one minute without oxygen. After three minutes, the impact of oxygen deprivation is much more extensive – and the risk of lasting brain damage more likely.

Suddenly, a picture emerges of hundreds of new brain injuries occurring every month as a result of people being brought back to life. Add in the ongoing crisis of brain injury caused by intimate partner violence, and the magnitude of just how many British Columbians are incurring such injuries starts to sink in.

Most won’t be diagnosed or treated. That’s not only because of medical difficulties in confirming these types of brain injuries, but the reality of social barriers, stigma, and poor access to medical care that’s so common for both these populations.

Some will live their lives without ever knowing they have a brain injury. They’ll see themselves as failures – struggling to hold down paid employment, complete studies, maintain family relationships, manage their mental and physical health.

The most severely affected could soon find themselves held in new “secure care” units against their will, which Premier David Eby recently announced as BC marks a return to institutionalizing people with severe addictions, mental health issues and brain injuries.

But that’s an extreme response to a crisis that can be dealt with effectively and well in community if government would only commit to the assessments and long-term supports that people need. A return to the days of involuntary care ought to be the last thing we try after all else fails, not a substitute for thoughtful, long-term supports that help get people back to their lives.

Thank you to our donors who have supported The Cridge Centre so generously as we developed our brain injury services and now our dual-stream services for women injured through intimate partner violence. Because of you, we know that people can move past a brain injury when their needs are met – we’ve seen it with our own eyes for three decades now!

But the emerging crises are unlike anything BC has seen before. So much more is needed, and so urgently.