{"id":110868,"date":"2022-03-25T13:26:21","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T17:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=110868"},"modified":"2022-03-25T13:37:58","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T17:37:58","slug":"muskoka-opioid-calls-down-in-2021-but-still-more-than-double-2018-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/muskoka-opioid-calls-down-in-2021-but-still-more-than-double-2018-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Muskoka opioid calls down in 2021, but still more than double 2018 numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Muskoka is not immune to the worldwide opioid crisis. Although opioid-related calls to Muskoka Paramedic Services (MPS) dropped in 2021, they have more than doubled since 2018, and opioid-related deaths continue to rise across Simcoe Muskoka.<\/p>\n\n\n

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When used appropriately, opioids are efficient painkillers\u2014the opioid family includes morphine, codeine, OxyContin, Percocet, and Vicodin, among others\u2014but they are highly addictive making them a target for illicit drug use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Street drugs containing opioids are often much more potent than prescription opioids. Fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine and 40 times stronger than heroin. Carfentanil is a sedative used for large animals, and is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very small amount of fentanyl can lead to an overdose and, if medical help isn’t immediately available, death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opioid calls to MPS down slightly in 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a report presented at the District’s health services committee on March 24, MPS observed an 11.5 per cent decrease in opioid-related calls for assistance in 2021 compared to 2020. But 2021 numbers are still more than double those of 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the increase in calls for assistance, MPS administration of Naloxone, or Narcan, a drug that can reverse the effects of opioids, has remained relatively consistent, MPS Commander Brad Davies told committee. That’s due in part to an increase in the rate of bystander administration of Narcan thanks to public awareness campaigns and the availability of Narcan kits through the health unit or local pharmacies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Opioid-related calls for assistance to MPS compared to doses of Narcan administered for the years 2018 to 2021.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Opioid deaths on the rise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opioid-related deaths per 100,000 population were higher in Muskoka during the period from 2017 to 2020 compared to Simcoe County, notes the MPS report, but those numbers don’t take into account the seasonal populations in Muskoka, to which some of the deaths may be attributed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Opioid mortality rates per capita (deaths per 100,000 people) for Muskoka, Simcoe County, and the Province of Ontario for the years 2017 to 2020.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In a March 16 letter to provincial health minister Christine Elliott, Anita Dubeau, the board of health chair for Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) noted that, “In the 19 months of available data since the start of the pandemic (March 2020 to September 2021) there have been 245 opioid-related deaths in Simcoe Muskoka. This is nearly 70 per cent higher than the 145 opioid-related deaths in the 19 months prior to the start of the pandemic (August 2018 to February 2020), when our communities were already struggling in the face of this crisis. The first nine months of 2021 saw an opioid-related death rate more than 33 per cent higher than the first nine months of 2020, suggesting the situation has not yet stabilized.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dubeau urged the provincial government to ramp up its opioid crisis response, including increasing harm-reduction strategies and treatment strategies. Read the full letter here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emergency department visits and hospitalizations are up, too<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) reports on hospitalizations, “because it is difficult to report on overdoses in the community, as many of them do not end up in hospital where a true diagnosis can be made. Hospitalizations do not capture all overdoses but are indicative of community trends,” notes the MPS report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Per capita emergency department (ED) visits in Muskoka are consistent with the provincial rates while hospitalizations are higher than the provincial average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What to do if you witness an overdose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SMDHU notes the following signs, symptoms, and risk factors for an overdose, as well as what to do if you are witness to an overdose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signs\/symptoms of an overdose<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n