Frontline medical staff at Windsor Regional Hospital is trying to keep up with the steady arrival of drug related patients.
That's according to Dr. Paul Bradford, the Emergency Room Medical Director spoke to Rusty Thompson on the TKO Show. Bradford says, for example, more than 24-patients arrived at the Ouellette Campus either passed out, or dealing with drug issues on Nov. 3.
He says opioids are a big part of the equation, but it's not the only substance in the picture, making it a challenge to treat patients effectively.
"The other issue is that there's more than one substance involved, you can't really categorize only one drug," says Bradford, who says alcohol and other drugs are usually a combined factor.
Bradford says opioids are in the public eye for good reason, but seeing what drugs like methamphetamines do to an addict is just as tragic.
"It takes over their brain and basically gives the person psychosis, hallucinations and aggression. Often there will be three or four police and paramedics fighting with this person to get them out of the middle of the road because they're running in traffic or something like that," says Bradford. "They bring them in and that requires a lot of resources. We have to sedate them, there's a lot of yelling involved and that type of thing."
Most medical professionals feel like they're fighting a losing battle when those who need help won't accept it unless it's on their terms, he added.
"There's really little the family or a practitioner can do and that's the saddest part. They're really addicted to this substance and it's taken over everything in their life and they just really close everything else out." he says. "All of these people want to help them so badly is just the real frustrating part."
— with files from AM800's Rusty Thompson.