With the opioid crisis having been declared a provincial public health emergency, London has been given the go-ahead to establish a temporary site where people can use drugs under the watchful eye of medical professionals.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) announced on Tuesday it is looking for a suitable location for the new, temporary facility, dubbed an "overdose prevention site."
“This is a life and death matter, and I am pleased with the provincial announcement to support immediate opening of overdose prevention sites,” said Sonja Burke, director of counterpoint harm reduction services at Regional HIV/AIDS Connection. “It’s a definitive statement that every life is valuable and harm reduction is a critical part of the addictions continuum.”
Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins said this month he is moving to allow the sites, which he said would prevent deaths by allowing drugs to be consumed in a safer environment.
In November, the MLHU created an online survey and held nine public consultation meetings in which hundreds of Londoners weighed in on the possibility of setting up a permanent place for drug users to consume narcotics. Data collected during those consultations shows the public would like integrated services linking to wraparound support, treatment, and rehabilitation included at the sites.
“Supervised Consumption Facilities alone are not going to end the drug crisis. Londoners clearly recognize that, and want these facilities to offer links with other services,” said Medical Officer of Health Dr. Christopher Mackie. “With the input of neighbourhoods where the need is greatest, combined with new tools that will allow us to begin this work, we are now closer to being able to implement solutions for those at greatest risk.”
While the creation of permanent supervised consumption site in London is still months away, the search for a suitable temporary location has begun. An announcement about the site location and hours of operation is expected in the coming weeks.
Figures released by the Public Health Agency of Canada Monday indicate that the opioid crisis continues to worsen nationally. At at least 1,460 Canadians died from opioid-related overdoses in the first half of 2017. That number could rise to more than 4,000 deaths by the end of the year, greatly exceeding the 2,861 deaths recorded in 2016.
