Opiod deaths up 500 percent in 10 years

The number of deaths related to opioid abuse in St. Thomas, Elgin and Oxford rose from 4.2 per 100,000 of population in 2011 to 21.9 in 2021, and that doesn’t include the latest numbers from 2022 and 2023.

That was one of the grim facts confronted by Southwestern Public Health Board members during a presentation on drug Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) on Thursday, June 22.

Another was that opioid-related emergency room visits had risen from 31.7 per 100,000 of population in 2011 to 162.3 in 2021.

And, in the same 10-year period, the average number of hospitalizations related to opioids increased from 17.6 per 100,000 of population to 31.9.

Public health managers said that one way to reduce those numbers would be through the establishment of Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) sites where opioid users could more safely feed their habits, under medical supervision and with the option of treatment services that would help them manage their addictions and potentially beat them.

But that means convincing a municipality to host one, and finding someone to operate it.

More in the June 28 edition of The Aylmer Express.