An emergency meeting on the opioid crisis in this region has identified two major items to help address the problem.
The first is the need for timely data sharing between all relevant members for a coordinated response to overdose related events.
The second is the establishment of a Rapid Access Addiction Medicine clinic, called a critical service for those addicted to opioids including prescription opioids.
Medical Officer of Health for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, Dr. Wajid Ahmed says the data sharing would help understand where the response needs to focus especially in cases where more than one patient is being transported to the hospital.
"Let's say if EMS picks up one person, police picks up one person and one person shows up at the emergency but there are others still out there in the community and there is a bad batch of drugs that is circulating. Having all that information would help us in even analyzing the situation and even where the response should be directed."
He says RAMM clinics are already in other communities in Sarnia-Lambton and Chatham-Kent.
"That clinic provides the very quick and easy referral and treatment services for people looking to get rid of their addiction. So that's one aspect of the additional treatment and rehabilitation services that we are hoping to get and bring into our community."
Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed reveals Opioid strategy, January 19, 2018 (Photo by AM800's Peter Langille)
Ahmed says there is a lack of treatment and rehabilitating beds in our community and urgent funding is needed from the provincial government.
"All those services require a lot of money. That's what, we kind of may have an agreement, that this is something goes beyond that we are dealing with our current resources. It definitely requires some additional resources and it requires some political will and political support that we need."
The immediate measures were identified during an emergency meeting of the Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy Leadership Committee.
The meeting was called to look for short-term solutions after four overdose deaths in a 24 hour period in Windsor.