A newly-created data dashboard shows that the Quinte Region continues to have a high percentage of opioid overdoses.
Program Manager Stephanie McFaul of the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Unit tells Quinte News there is now a way to share up-to-date information with the community.
The data, which was introduced at Wednesday’s meeting of the Health Unit Board, indicates that this year there have been six deaths from suspected drug overdoses and 42 emergency room visits for opioid poisonings, an increase over this time last year which had 31 visits.
A report to the board indicated that although the opioid crisis is often considered as a “young people’s crisis” most poisonings are happening in adults 25 to 44 years old.
McFaul indicated that this data really shows “a picture of who we have in our mind is not necessarily the people who are at the highest risk.”
She tells Quinte News that typically it has been males but in recent years they are seeing more suspected poisoning in females. The demographics of this problem are also changing and the difference between males and females isn’t as large as it used to be.
Speaking to Quinte News after the meeting, public health nurse Jeremy Owens said, “Having this dashboard helps. Having that awareness in the community and having that resource to go to just increases the awareness of the harms that opioids pose to members of our community.”
Yvonne Dewit, an epidemiologist who is the architect behind the dashboard tells Quinte News there was a big spike in calls over the pandemic but the Quinte area is trending ahead for this year with 82 calls already logged in 2023.
