Thunder Bay emergency room visits for opioid toxicity 'nearly twice' Ontario average

A new report shows the rate of people harmed by their use of opioids, as measured by the healthcare system, is higher in the Thunder Bay district than anywhere else in Ontario.

The Opioid Use and Impacts in Thunder Bay District report, released Monday by the Thunder Bay Drug Strategy and the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, marks the first time the two have collaborated on compiling data to provide information about local trends in opioid-related harms.

For instance, the rate of emergency department visits for opioid toxicity "is high, it's nearly double the provincial average," said Cynthia Olsen, the drug strategy coordinator.

Data collected in 2016 found 53 emergency department visits for opioid toxicity per 100,000 people in the Thunder Bay district, compared to 32 per 100,000 reported as an average for Ontario.

Methadone most commonly detected opioid at death

The report also stated that, in the Thunder Bay district, methadone is the most commonly-detected opioid found during an overdose death, while in the rest of Ontario, it is fentanyl.

But "it doesn't tell us if individuals were receiving methadone as part of a treatment plan and that was the cause of, or contributed to, the death, and it doesn't tell us if it was illicitly-obtained methadone," Olsen said.

"What it tells us is that it was a contributing factor."

According to the report, the Thunder Bay district also has the highest proportion of residents dispensed methadone or buprenorphine-naloxone in Ontario.

No recorded deaths in supervised consumption sites 

The drug strategy, along with a variety of health care agencies and groups, is working toward receiving federal government approval to establish multiple supervised consumption sites in Thunder Bay.

Olsen said she hopes the report will encourage people to learn more about the need for these services.

"There are no recorded overdose deaths in any supervised consumption facility worldwide," she said. "We also know that those who access these types of services are more likely to connect with the broader range of treatments as well as to feel that they are valued individuals in our community."

Public consultations are scheduled to take place from place April 9–11 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the following locations:

•  April 9 at NorWest Community Health Centres, 525 Simpson Street (a partnership between NorWest Community Health Centres and Dilico Anishinabek Family Care)
•  April 10 at Joseph Esquega Health Centre, 401 Donald Street East (a partnership between Elevate NWO, Joseph Esquega Health Centre, and Anishnawbe Mushkiki)
•  April 11 at Elevate NWO, 106 Cumberland Street North, Suite 102 (a partnership between Elevate NWO, Joseph Esquega Health Centre, and Anishnawbe Mushkiki)

The Ontario HIV Treatment Network in Toronto is also conducting an online survey, which is open to the public until April 13. 

The report on opioid impacts in Thunder Bay was released at an event hosted by the drug strategy and Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, which brought together people from around the region to begin developing an opioid strategy for northwestern Ontario.