FIVE people have died from suspected heroin overdoses in greater Belfast in just two days.
Police are probing the sudden death of a 19-year-old woman in the city centre on Sunday November 17. She was found at premises close to Victoria Square.
On Saturday November 16 a 21-year-old man died after being found unconscious in the toilets of a Starbucks cafe in nearby Cornmarket. His family have said they believe he had suffered a heroin overdose.
On Friday night it emerged that five people had died from suspected heroin overdoses last weekend – triggering an internal ‘early warning system’ led by the health service and shared with agencies including police and the Department of Justice.
The Drug and Alcohol Monitoring and Information System alert stated there had been “five suspected drug-related deaths over the weekend within the Greater Belfast area”.
“While it is not known at this stage what, if any, substances had been taken, it is believed that the individuals may have taken heroin and, in some circumstances, poly drug use,” it added.
The deaths have highlighted the growing issue of drug addiction in the city. SDLP councillor Paul McCusker has called for more support to tackle the problem. Mr McCusker, who has raised the matter with the chief medical officer, said the “fact that we are still seeing people die alone from drugs in our community is a disgrace in 2019”.
“We have seen an increase in more younger people using high-level drugs and are caught up in the cycle of addiction and see no way out,” he said.
“Behind those who have died are mothers, fathers, sons and daughters and we can no longer sit back and allow this to continue.”
Police said a postmortem examination had taken place following the discovery of the teenage woman’s body in the city centre.
“However, we await the results of further tests,” a spokeswoman said.
“The death is not being treated as suspicious at this time.”
The recent deaths have highlighted the growing problem of drug addiction in the city.
Aaron Connor (21) died in hospital after being found unconscious in a Starbucks cafe. His family believe he died after taking heroin. His father Christopher told The Irish News this week that his son had battled drug addiction for five years and had become hooked on heroin in recent months.
Last week police said they believed lives had been saved after heroin worth an estimated £20,000 was seized in south Belfast.
In a statement on Friday night a Belfast City Council spokeswoman said it worked “with a range of partners to address the complex issue of drug use in the city”.
But Mr McCusker called for more support for those “caught up in the cycle of addiction”.
“Families are having to deal the devastation of losing their loved ones in such horrific conditions as we continue to see a rise in individuals who are suffering from an addiction and often find it difficult to access the immediate support they require,” he said.
“The need for more early intervention, easier access to harm reduction support, detox treatment and crisis response is critical in dealing with the rise in individuals using heroin and poly drug use.
“Statutory services, including the community and voluntary sector, are under extreme pressure with rising waiting lists and until we see better investment and a reform of the current services many more lives will be put at risk.”
Mr McCusker said he had written to chief medical officer Dr Michael McBride to “voice my concerns that we need to act now and provide that reassurance and hope to the public that this is being taking seriously’.
“My thoughts are with those families who have lost loved ones who equally need support,” he said.
