The Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit has issued an Opioid Overdose Alert for Northumberland County after a noticeable increase in overdoses over the past three days.
Some overdoses involve Fentanyl, and there is concern that these overdoses may be the result of a contaminated or poisoned drug supply, of inconsistent or increased potency, causing more severe overdose reactions.
Another contributing factor may be people using drugs alone.
Dorothea Service, Manager of Health Promotion with the HKPR District Health Unit says they are issuing the alert to make community members aware that more drug overdoses are occurring in Northumberland County and to remind everyone to be extra vigilant when using drugs.
The HKPR District Health Unit’s opioid overdose alert automatically flags the problem for community partners and first responders, which triggers enhanced outreach efforts and distribution of naloxone kits in Northumberland.
Naloxone kits are also available for people who use opioids, as well as their family and friends. These can be picked up at Health Unit offices, local pharmacies, and other locations (www.ontario.ca/naloxone).
For local opioid overdose incidents, visit the Health Unit’s Opioid Overdose Report dashboard. People can also use the online submission form to anonymously report overdoses and drug-related information to assist in a quicker response to these incidents.
