The B.C. government has launched the Opioid Treatment Access Line to make it faster and easier for people to get life-saving medication to treat opioid-use disorder and get connected to same-day care.

The Opioid Treatment Access Line is a province-wide telephone-based health service. People struggling with opioid addiction can call 1-833-804-8111 toll-free for immediate assistance from a dedicated team, including doctors and nurses, who can prescribe life-saving opioid agonist medications.

Callers will also be directly connected to regional health-care teams for ongoing treatment and support within their community. Dedicated nurses will help make sure people are getting the longer-term care they need. The service is confidential, the treatment is covered under BC PharmaCare, and it is available seven days a week from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

“When people struggling with opioid addiction decide to reach out for help, they need access to treatment and care quickly, free from barriers,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “This new confidential access line will help people across B.C. start on a path to recovery right away. It’s part of our work to expand access to treatment and recovery so people can get the care they need, where and when they need it.”

It is estimated that there are at least 125,000 people living with opioid-use disorder in B.C., and there are approximately 24,000 people currently on opioid agonist treatment. The Opioid Treatment Access Line will help many people, especially those in smaller communities, who find it challenging to find a local clinic or prescriber.

The Opioid Treatment Access Line supports the expansion of the Road to Recovery program across all regions of B.C., and serves as an immediate measure to improve access to opioid-addiction treatment.

“Opioid agonist treatments can reduce the harmful symptoms of opioid use and support long-term recovery, but too often people face challenges with getting a prescription when they need it,” said Dr. Penny Ballem, the Premier’s special adviser on health care. “Through this new telephone service, people from anywhere in B.C. can quickly and easily get an assessment and be prescribed the treatments they need to start their healing journey.”

Opioid agonist treatment uses medications such as buprenorphine/naloxone, methadone and slow-release oral morphine, prescribed by a trained doctor or nurse to prevent withdrawal symptoms and reduce the risk of overdose. Opioid agonist treatment is an evidence-based approach used widely across Canada and around the world. It is the recommended first-line treatment for people with opioid addiction and has been shown to help people stabilize their health and life, stay in treatment, stay away from toxic opioid use and start a path to recovery.

The toxic-drug crisis continues to devastate families across B.C. and North America, and men working in the trades are over-represented in the number of deaths from overdose. A BC Coroner’s Report from 2022 found that of the 35% of people who were employed at the time of their death, 52% of them worked in the construction, trades or transport industry.

The province has been working with the sector to expand Tailgate Toolkit, a harm-reduction program that aims to educate employers and employees about the risks and supports available to them. The Opioid Treatment Access Line is another tool to add to that toolkit.

BC Government photo

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