Northumberland County is facing a challenge that many communities in Ontario are being confronted with, an Opioid Crisis that continues to take the lives of friends and strangers without discrimination.
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit has provided weekly reports on the crisis through their Opioid Overdose Report dashboard since September of 2021.
The dashboard is meant to provide a more complete picture of the opioid overdoses in the region and provide the Health Unit and harm reduction partners like PARN, Green Wood Coalition and first responders critical information like overdose alerts to help them save lives which can be viewed here: Microsoft Power BI
We asked public health nurse and program coordinator Leslie McLaughlin about HKPR’s role in combating the crisis.
Safe consumption sites like the one in Peterborough have had success in reducing deaths by simply providing a safe space for opioid user to consume with health professionals on hand to mitigate the effects of an overdose. These sites provide clean needles and have naloxone on hand in case of emergency.
Tweak Easy Cobourg has been running an unsanctioned consumption site for several weeks now and they’ve been facing criticism from Council and the public on the work they’re doing to reduce harm, and save lives.
HKPR’s Chief Medical Officer presented the facts to County Council last week.
Those discussions continue in municipal councils around the county bringing up questions of how to address the need and how to move forward as a caring community.
It’s a difficult topic to bring up said Nurse McLaughlin, but that’s just the reason it’s so important to be open to discussing opioid use with family, friends and loved ones.
Leslie told us there are many reasons people use and they cover the spectrum of our population from teens to professionals.
McLaughlin is also a program coordinator for the substance and harm reduction program at the HKPR District Health Unit.
Leslie told us that the tainted drug supply is making it even more difficult for first responders who rely on Naloxone to mitigate the effects of opioids, but it only works on opioids so the tainted supply is robbing them of a critical tool.
There is a role for everyone to play in this crisis, and many don’t require you to be on the “front lines”, but all of them require you to be informed about how you can help – just carrying a naloxone kit (available for free from most pharmacies) can save a life.
The Health Unit reminds people who use drugs to keep these safety measures in mind:
- Test a small amount of any drug before using.
- Never use alone.
- If you are alone, contact the National Overdose Response Service (NORS) virtual safe consumption at 1-888-668-NORS (6677), or practice the buddy system and call a friend.
- Call 9-1-1 in the event of an overdose.
- Keep a naloxone kit on hand. You can get a naloxone kit at most pharmacies and needle exchange sites.
- Avoid mixing drugs.
HKPR District Health says that as important as preventing overdoses is, it’s critical that we start to change the conversation about opioid use and work together, setting aside personal concerns and opinions. People impacted by opioids need to receive our compassion to get to the root of this issue.
Written by Joseph Goden
