A Windsor doctor, working on the front lines of the region's opioid crisis, fears it is getting worse, and a provincial tracking tool appears to support his intuitions.
The report says, while opioid-related deaths within the Erie St. Clair Local Health Integrated Network declined in December 2016, the number of visits to emergency departments has shot up. Hospitalizations have remained relatively stable.
Dr. Paul Bradford suspects the numbers may be higher than reported. He sees patients overdosed on opioids daily, and often the patient has taken other narcotics too.
"There's urine drug testing we can do, and often all of the ten drugs are positive," Bradford says. "At some point, people just get so desperate, they're just taking cocaine or methamphetamines, and opioids will be part of the mix."
Ambulance backing into the Emergency Department at Windsor Regional Hospital- Met Campus. (Photo by Maureen Revait)
It points to the possibility Windsor-Essex does not just have an opioid crisis, but a multiple-narcotic problem.
"Crystal meth within our city seems to be really, really increasing, and they are really challenging for our first responders," he says. "That ties up a lot of resources for us, and we've had staff injuries."
Many of the patients that are admitted are unconscious on arrival to the emergency room, requiring critical care. And, as the needs of an aging general population increase, Bradford worries care for non-opioid patients can suffer.
"We worry about that every day, and we've had staff cuts," he admits saying, knowing who to treat and when, is a delicate balance. "We want to treat the traumas and the heart attacks and the strokes. We want to be there for you, but these patients, unfortunately, they do pull you away from other patients because of the fact that they're not breathing."
A report to the Windsor Regional Hospital's board of directors says many of those with suffering are not what the public typically envisions when it hears about drug addiction. Bradford says some have managed to hold down a job, and they're older.
CEO David Musyj notes the age of patients who seek help at the hospital ranges from 24 to 65 years.
Bradford says it is good news the federal and provincial governments have made opioid addiction a priority, but he believes tackling it will require more health spending on detox beds and counseling. Some of the possible solutions, he admits may not be popular.
"I can't help but think maybe we need legislation under the Mental Health Act," he suggests. "I'm wondering if we could just take somebody and admit them into a unit, maybe against their rights for a short period of time to help get them off these medications because it's just so sad and destructive."