Members on the board of health serving Elgin and Oxford counties have voted unanimously in favour of taking the steps needed to operate supervised consumption and treatment services (CTS) in the region.
The board for Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) approved several recommendations to begin finding a suitable location to host a CTS site while conducting public consultation with community partners.
“Each member of this Board witnesses almost daily the harms of the opioid crisis in our region,” read a statement from Board Chair and St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston. “We support the staff looking into this further, consulting businesses, service providers, and community members about how to build and support a model that may reverse some of what we’re seeing locally.”
Findings from the study An Exploration of the Need for and Feasibility of Consumption and Treatment Services in the Southwestern Public Health Region contain local support for CTS. Among those who participated included those with lived experience of substance use, municipal partners, and most community members. Data also showed strong preference for an embedded delivery model (embedded within other settings such as a hospital or shelter), rather than a standalone service, with additional services such as mental health and treatment available on site.
SWPH said its external advisory committee reviewed the study and came up with the five recommendations and next steps since approved by the board. They include:
Consulting with local partners on the feasibility and application process requirements of the organizations considering operating a CTS service in the region.
Supporting discussions using local data and study findings to consider potential locations that could host CTS. The locations must meet the requirements for federal approval and provincial funding.
Pending the outcome of the consultation process, SWPH will obtain letters of support from the respective cities and host locations.
Conducting further education, consultation, and data collection with the general community, business owners/operators, Indigenous community partners, municipalities, and other partners on the purpose and expected impacts.
Providing support to providers interested in operating a CTS to complete the Federal Exemption Application and the Provincial Funding Application.
“Opening consumption and treatment services in any community is a long journey that requires careful consultation, strong community-wide collaboration, and an ardent belief that we can and should do better for people with substance use disorders,” said Elgin, Oxford, and St. Thomas Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ninh Tran.
Statistics gathered by SWPH showed opioid-related overdoses and deaths have increased locally in the last three years.
Rates of opioid-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations in Elgin and Oxford have been higher than the provincial rate over time, with the death rate often close to or just below the provincial rate. Local hospitalizations first started to increase in 2016, rising to nearly one and a half times the provincial rate in 2021. The rate of deaths also increased more quickly than emergency room visits and hospitalizations, doubling between 2019 and 2021, to above the provincial rate.
The study said the unregulated drug supply has also experienced rapid changes in availability, which may have impacted the toxicity of unregulated substances such as Fentanyl, Methadone, Carfentanil, Hydromorphone, and Oxycodone.
More information can be found on SWPH’s website.
