London, ON – In the fall of 2018, it seemed as though the local fight against opioids was about to take a turn for the worse. Data released by Public Health Ontario in September, 2018, showed 22 people in London and Middlesex County had died from opioid poisoning in the first three months of the year. The data, combined with reports of more potent drugs arriving in the community and an increasing number of overdoses in August, pointed to the potential for an unprecedented number of opioid-related deaths for 2018.

Unexpectedly, the data for the second quarter of 2018 indicated that 12 people had died from opioid poisoning, down substantially from the previous three-month period. The number of deaths continued to decrease to eight for the period between July and the end of September. Further findings indicated that almost none of the people who had died due to accidental overdose in the second and third quarters of 2018 showed evidence of injection drug use, suggesting that other forms of the potent drugs, including pills, were being used.

While there were more opioid-related deaths in London during the first quarter of 2018 than any other three-month period, there was a new front opening up in the battle against these drugs. This effort was characterized by a focus towards compassion, care and kindness and away from stigmatization and the tendency to see the addiction rather than the person.

“As a community, we are beginning to take deaths out of the overdose crisis. Harm reduction and outreach work of various sorts is connecting people with treatment, reconnecting people with their cultures, and helping to get people’s lives back on track,” says Dr. Chris Mackie, Medical Officer of Health and CEO of the Middlesex-London Health Unit. “We are a long way from finding a solution to the opioid crisis – much remains to be done – but this is a landmark moment.”

Ontario’s first legally-sanctioned temporary overdose prevention site (TOPS) opened in February, linking clients who use drugs with community partners in a safe, confidential and non-judgmental, space. Clients can use pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of a health professional at TOPS and access a range of community services. Since it opened, there have been 13,719 visits to the site, where staff have also reversed 83 overdoses. In addition, between June of 2018 and the end of the year, London Police Service officers administered 96 doses of naloxone to 59 people poisoned by opioids, of whom 57 survived.

The naloxone distribution, other harm reduction programs, and outreach services are a key part of this success. These essential programs are helping people stay alive long enough to be linked to treatment.

Media Contact:

Dan Flaherty, Communications Manager, Middlesex-London Health Unit,

519-663-5317 ext. 2469 or 519-617-0570 (cell.)

Spokespeople:
Dr. Chris Mackie, Medical Officer of Health and CEO, Middlesex-London Health Unit