Public health officials told Woodstock City Council on Tuesday that the city wants a supervised drug intake centre because rates of opioid overdose deaths, emergency room visits and hospitalizations in the domain are now higher than the Ontario average.
“Our incidence of poisonous drugs has worsened in recent years,” said Dr. Ninh Tran, chief medical officer of health for Southwestern Public Health. “We more than doubled our death rates between 2019 and 2021. “
Tran said most opioid-related deaths in the region occur in personal homes.
An Intake and Remedy Facilities (STC) site in Woodstock is a mandatory “pillar” to help a variety of other facilities combat fatal overdoses and other addiction-related problems, he said.
Tran explained that clients who come to CTS don’t get medication, but bring their own. The facility offers a position where drug use is supervised by personnel trained in harm reduction. Tran said this would reduce the overdose deaths that are surging across the country due to a poisonous source of illicit drugs, namely fentanyl.
Other services, in addition to addiction treatment, are provided on-site to help clients when they are ready.
“Instead of using drugs at home alone or in public spaces, it’s an opportunity to move some of that use to a position where there are other people who can respond to overdoses,” Tran said. “We need to stay other people” alive as long as possible, until they are fit for treatment. You can’t oppose death. “
Other people who spoke in favour of locating a hospital in Woodstock included delegations from the Oxford Community Health Centre and CMHA’s Thames Valley Mental Health and Addiction Services.
Megan Van Boheemen spoke to Woodstock councillors about the good fortune of the London Supervised Drug Intake Array, which became the province’s government-funded Supervised Intake of Medicines when it opened in 2019.
He said central London had received more than 52,000 visits and treated around six hundred overdoses that time, and that central London had referred thousands of others to various mind-conditioning and addiction services.
“We have a great task of serving as a bridge to the facilities for those who have difficulty accessing them,” he said.
And while public health officials have spoken out in favor of an STC for Woodstock, more than a dozen citizens have spoken out against it.
Jasmine Moulton and her husband operate Home Hardware retail stores in Woodstock and Ingersoll. She questioned the findings of a feasibility study published in the spring, which concluded the need for supervised drug intake in the region.
“It’s as if those unelected bureaucrats are so ideologically motivated that community reactions have absolutely fallen on deaf ears and yet continue to advance their agenda,” he said. “Let’s help addicts instead of destroying their lives and our city with awakened citizens and disastrous policies. “
Bernia Wheaton said she understood the opposition, but said a drug use site was needed along with other facilities needed to help others get out of their addiction.
“I see the CTS as the first springboard to cross the river,” he said. “And if we don’t prioritize CTS and everyone who follows it, the step will still be too big for some people. “
Councillors voted unanimously to get all comments for information. They plan to conduct further consultations before deciding to proceed with an STC.
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Andrew Lupton is a journalist born in British Columbia and two people living in north London, passionate about politics and baseball.
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