Results from a situational assessment of opioid use and related harms in Chatham-Kent are highlighting over-prescription and misinformation as some factors as to why there has been an increase of opioid usage in the region.
Although it may not be out in the open, Emily Guerin, the harm reduction coordinator with the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit, said opioid use and other drug use remain problematic in the municipality.
"We specifically heard that opioid use is hidden and people who use opioids may not go to services which capture data related to opioid use," said Guerin during a harm reduction conference on Wednesday. "Although we're not experiencing a large number of fatal opioid poisings there are indicators that show opioid use and related harms are a problem in Chatham-Kent."
In the assessment, the public health unit compiled data from community partners as well as conducted interviews with 25 frontline range of service providers from different organizations in the community. They listed a variety of factors related to the region's opioid crisis, some of which included prescribing opioids for chronic pain and overprescribing opioids.
With the opioid crisis increasing in the region, Guerin said community partners indicated a lack of transportation and adequate services outside of Chatham are contributing to an increase of opioid-related harm.
"Due to our vast geography we experience challenges related to transportation, which community partners stated contributes to social isolation and is a barrier to developing relationships and community connections," said Guerin. "Furthermore, community partners stated there are limited services and support for people who are living outside of Chatham."
The number of people admitted to the emergency room or being treated by EMS for opioid-related harm has increased provincially over the past two years with a peak in April and May of 2019, the health unit indicated on Wednesday.
According to Guerin, trends of opioid use in Chatham match what is going on in the rest of the province.
"In 2017, there were 58 emergency department visits, 26 hospitalizations and five deaths due to opioid poisonings," she said. "In 2018, there have been 36 EMS calls, 67 emergency department visits and two deaths -- between January and September 2018." There is still no data available for the rest of 2018.
This spring, Chatham-Kent EMS has reported an increase in suspected opioid overdose-related calls with the number of 9-1-1 and emergency room visits the highest they have been since weekly hospital reports began in April 2017.
Those numbers remained high in May, accounting for one of the most active months to date for opioid-related calls.