Windsor Regional Hospital's CEO is calling on the province to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency.
David Musyj says enough is enough and more action is required immediately.
Musyj says emergency department visits in Windsor/Essex for opioid-related issues went from 108 in 2016 to 168 in 2017, while local overdose deaths remained steady at 37 in 2016 and 35 in 2017.
He says more resources and support are needed to cope with this crisis.
"The last time we declared a public health emergency was for SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and SARS resulted in 44 people dying across the province. We had 35 alone in Windsor-Essex," says Musyj.
Public Health Ontario (PHO) is reporting Ontario's opioid-related poisoning deaths are up 41% last year over 2016. PHO says there were nearly 1,200 deaths in 2017, which is up almost 10 times since 2000 with Fentanyl, Hydromorphone, and Oxycodone the main causes of opioid-related deaths in Ontario.
Musyj says this is affecting too many people and is going to destroy generations.
"Why this is not declared a public health emergency is beyond me. We need all of the resources marshalled from the province of Ontario to attack this issue and deal with it on the front line," he says.
Musyj thinks this is just the tip of the iceberg unless we do something quickly to solve the crisis.
"The numbers are staggering. The number of deaths are staggering, the number of ER visits and hospitalizations are staggering and how this has ruined families is staggering," Musyj says.