Alberta’s toxic drug crisis is taking a heavy toll on health-care workers, report warns

A new report suggests Alberta’s drug toxicity crisis is pushing frontline health-care workers to a breaking point.

A new report from the Parkland Institute warns Alberta’s toxic drug crisis is straining frontline health-care workers to the point of burnout, violence, and shortened careers — pressures that could ripple out and affect broader hospital and emergency care for every Albertan.

The report, titled Ripple Effects: The Drug Toxicity Crisis and Its Impact on Frontline Health Workers, surveyed more than 530 paramedics, therapists and technicians who work directly with patients experiencing addiction and drug poisoning.

Many respondents say they feel abandoned by management, under-trained and unsupported in a system overwhelmed by addiction, homelessness and increasingly toxic street drugs.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Dr. Jennifer Jackson, an associate professor in the University of Calgary’s faculty of nursing and the report’s lead author, says the findings confirm what front-line workers have felt for years: the system isn’t working for those using drugs — and it’s failing those who care for them.

“We’ve known for a long time that what we’re doing, to address the drug toxicity crisis in the province is not working for people with addictions,” Jackson said.

“What this report finds is that it’s also not working for health care professionals.”

Since 2016, the province has recorded more than 10,000 Albertans killed from drug poisoning with 94 per cent involving fentanyl and 65 per cent involving methamphetamine.

According to the province’s substance use surveillance data, there were 1,193 deaths in 2024 – down significantly from 1,872 during the deadliest year on record in 2023.

So far in 2025 from January to July, there have been 678 drug poisoning deaths, keeping pace with the year prior.

Workers report burnout, violence and lack of support

Jackson says health-care professionals are bearing the brunt of a system that is under-resourced and reactive.

“We’re finding that health care professionals are not getting the education and training they need,” she said.

“They are not getting enough support from their management and support from their colleagues. And they’re also facing very high amounts of violence because of the challenging conditions that are created in the health-care system.”

Burnout is widespread, the report highlights, especially among paramedics and emergency department staff — workers who are on the front lines of street-level addiction.

“They had frankly shocking findings because they were saying things like, if you get three years out of this career, that’s about all you can expect these days,” she said.

“We had more than one person say they’re spending over a third of their paycheque on therapy, and that’s the only reason they’re able to continue doing their job.”

Jackson says these conditions are pushing health care staff to the limit and leading many to question how long they can stay in the profession.

Report calls for housing, flexibility and cost-neutral reforms

The report outlines solutions that Jackson says are urgently needed, starting with dignified housing for people who use drugs or experience homelessness.

“One of the most important things we need to do is provide supportive housing for people who are experiencing homelessness,” she said. “Trying to provide health care in a back alley is not ideal for anyone.”

She added that housing rules should prioritize safety and dignity and that “just because someone might be poor does not mean they are dangerous.”

“We need to create a place where somebody is welcome and they have dignity, and then from there they can have some stability to make different choices in their lives.”

“I think it’s incumbent on all of us to reflect that addiction and mental health issues are chronic illness, just like lots of other chronic illnesses that we deal with day in and day out.”

Jackson says one major barrier is the province’s one-size-fits-all approach to addiction care and emergency response, which doesn’t account for differences between places like High River, Fort McMurray or Wetaskiwin.

“Right now, Alberta Health Services is being run from a very directive approach,” she said.

“What we found in this report is that the needs across the province are very different… So we need to allow for as much customization for communities because they know what they need best.”

Among the low-cost solutions in reach: expanding electronic health record access to include paramedics, who currently can’t view or input patient data.

“Our whole province is on electronic health records except for paramedics,” she said. “Why not include paramedics as well?”

She also wants to see more time allowed for peer support, grief recognition, and on-shift debriefing — all currently hindered by privacy rules and time constraints.

Alberta government defends recovery-oriented strategy

In response to the report, Alberta’s ministry of mental health and addiction defended its recovery-focused strategy and said it has taken steps to improve workplace safety through legislation and treatment expansion.

“Alberta’s government strongly condemns actions which make anyone feel unsafe in their workplace, especially in health-care settings,” the ministry said in a written statement to CTV News.

“Our long-term, recovery-oriented strategy is designed to reduce drug use, increase rates of recovery, save lives and improve workplace safety for health care professionals.”

The government cited the Compassionate Intervention Act, which when implemented will allow for involuntary treatment in acute cases, alongside 11 new recovery communities and expansions to virtual opioid support.

“This means those who are showing up in emergency rooms dozens of times a year due to their addiction can access the treatment they need,” the ministry’s statement continued.

“We are working closely with health professionals, legal experts and community organizations to ensure this intervention is carried out ethically, respectfully and with the goal of long-term recovery.”

The province adds that it has also been making investments into voluntary treatment options which include the building of 11 recovery communities and expanding access to the virtual opioid dependency program (VODP).

The VODP has a record number of people receiving virtual care because many Albertans facing addiction want treatment and to get their lives back.

Jackson says that while government action is necessary, the public also plays a role in shifting stigma around addiction and poverty.

She criticized the closure of supervised consumption sites during the COVID-19 pandemic and other policy moves that she says force drug users into emergency rooms — at far greater cost.

“People have not stopped needing care. What it’s done is divert them to the emergency department and to our hospital system,” she said.

“A visit to a supervised consumption site is about $50 anywhere in the province. A visit to the emergency department is $1,200 and the cost only goes up from there.”

Compassionate intervention and burnout: physician weighs in

As Alberta prepares to bring in its Compassionate Intervention Act, which would allow involuntary treatment for people in acute addiction crises, one of the province’s leading addiction physicians says the model could work — if rooted in genuine care.

Dr. Nathaniel Day, an addiction medicine physician and chief scientific officer for the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence, said the concept mirrors practices already used in psychiatric care to stabilize people with severe mental illness.

“If we approach individuals with the sort of care and attention that we would appreciate ourselves… that will go a long way to meeting a person where they’re at and helping them be brought into actually being willing and able to accept the care that they need,” Day said in an interview with CTV News.

Day added that international research suggests forced treatment isn’t always traumatic — and can, in some cases, reduce stress.

“People who came into care involuntarily actually came in with levels of psychological distress that were much lower than what they expected,” he said.

“They didn’t have a choice to be there, so the tension wasn’t there. They’re just there, and then they’re able to actually engage and do fairly well.”

He added that powerful medications like monthly injectable buprenorphine, which curb opioid cravings, can help prevent fatal overdoses for patients leaving hospital — whether they came in voluntarily or not.

On the question of how health workers cope with repeated exposure to overdoses, Day said burnout is real and often tied to past gaps in care.

“There was a time where I felt distressed. I felt like I didn’t have the tools that I needed to be able to support the patients that I served,” he said.

“If you didn’t live in the right part of our province, you couldn’t get access to those treatments.”

Day said that even as access improves, workers need to protect themselves emotionally.

“We need to be able to actually have the boundary of saying, you know, this person, whether they have a fatal overdose… actually isn’t on me,”

“I can do my part, and I want to do my part…and then we need to, as well, take care of ourselves.”