While he believes supervised drug injection sites can save lives, the municipality’s new top doctor is unsure if they would be the best way to address the opioid crisis in Chatham-Kent.
Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, who was recently hired as Chatham-Kent’s acting medical officer of health, said a supervised drug injection site could potentially have a positive impact locally, but it would only be one component of a much broader plan to tackle the burden of opioid use disorder.
“I think if the board of health in the community chooses to have a safe injection site, that’s something they can move forward with. But that requires some contemplation on what it might achieve, what are the goals, how many resources it would take, would there be better options… does it make sense in a rural area?”
Supervised drug-use sites are currently utilized in larger neighbouring communities, such as London and Windsor.
“I would say as a general construct that safe injection sites keep people alive while they’re still using, for some people, and that’s worth it in itself,” said Dr. Nesathurai.
The new medical officer added that the number of people dying of opioid-related deaths and drug use-related deaths across the province is “staggering.”
“I think the last data that I looked at is that approximately 2,500 people are dying a year of opioid-related deaths [in Ontario]. To put that in perspective, there are about 600 people who die in car crash-related deaths [each year],” said Dr. Nesathurai.
In Chatham-Kent alone, Dr. Nesathurai said there were 45 drug-related deaths last year, 36 of which were related to opioid poisonings.
“That’s something that we should be concerned about,” he said. “We have to think of substance use disorder like every other disease. It’s hard to do because our culture isn’t really there yet.”
Dr. Nesathurai said recent data shows that around half of those who die of an opioid-related overdose, do so at home. He said he encourages everyone in the municipality to own or have access to a Naloxone kit in the event of an emergency. Dr. Nesathurai added that he himself has the overdose-reversing medication in his office and at his home.
“Having a kit is a way that we can do something today,” said Dr. Nesathurai. “One puff could save a life. Why wouldn’t you get one? There’s no shame in having one.”
For more information about Naloxone kits and how to obtain one, click here.
