Development of a new drug strategy is underway in Chatham-Kent and municipal and public health officials want to hear from the public.
The municipality said the need for this strategy was identified in 2019.
"A local situational assessment of opioid use and related harms was completed in 2019," said Chatham-Kent Public Health's Harm Reduction Coordinator Maggie Clendenning. "The findings suggested a coordinated approach to substance use, with a focus on prevention, building community capacity and supporting people who use opioids."
Recommendations for the drug strategy from a consultant, community partners, and other interested stakeholders are set to come before Chatham-Kent council in the Fall, according to a news release from the municipality.
"We want to be able to present something that is genuinely reflective of Chatham-Kent and the people who live, work and learn here," said Clendenning. "A real strength in this strategy will be the insight, views and opinions we receive from our community partners, and our community members, respectively."
The most recent Chatham-Kent Public Health Opioid Surveillance Summary reported Chatham-Kent’s rate of suspected drug deaths last year was significantly higher than the province and the rate of emergency department visits for 2022 was comparable to the province overall. The data showed that for the first 11 months of 2022, Chatham-Kent experienced a higher rate of opioid poisoning deaths compared to the province (25.9 versus 12.8 per 100,000).
The report also showed that the number of opioid poisoning-related ambulance calls in February were comparable to previous months and emergency department visits and suspected drug deaths were lower. Public health officials said there was one suspected drug-related death in Chatham-Kent in February and four to date in 2023.
Altogether there were 44 deaths linked to drugs in CK in 2022, according to officials, compared to 19 deaths in 2021.
They said there were also 28 confirmed opioid poisoning deaths in CK between January and November 2022.
There are two separate surveys currently open to hear public feedback and they will be open until Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
Click here for both surveys and additional information about the strategy.
The surveys will be available until Sunday, April 23rd.
