Strategies
Consumption and Treatment Services
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Consumption and Treatment Services
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Drug and substance use is an important community health issue that has significant impact on people who use drugs, their families, and the broader community. These impacts include death and disability from overdose, the spread of infectious diseases, injection drug litter and injection in public spaces.
Substance Use in Hamilton
Substance use remains a top cause of avoidable deaths in Hamilton. The rate of opioid-related deaths in Hamilton has been consistently higher than the provincial rate, and Hamilton continues to see increasing opioid overdose deaths, 9-1-1 calls for opioid overdose, and emergency department visits for suspected overdose.
For example, in 2021, 162 people living in Hamilton died due to opioid-related overdose (43% higher than the provincial rate). Among the 34 health units in Ontario, Hamilton had the 11th highest opioid-related mortality rate (2021) in the province.
Consumption and Treatment Services
Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) are locations where people consume pre-obtained drugs in a safe, hygienic environment under the supervision of trained and authorized harm reduction staff. These services reduce the harm caused from substance use (e.g. overdose, infection), while offering additional services such as counselling, primary care, addiction treatment, and connection to critical social supports such as housing. Currently there are 17 approved CTS sites in Ontario, including Toronto, Guelph, Kitchener, London, St. Catharines and Hamilton.
In 2017, Hamilton’s Supervised Injection Site Needs Assessment and Feasibility Study found that Hamilton would benefit from one or more of these services due to annual increases in opioid-related overdose deaths, high rates of infectious disease, and community support demonstrated during community and stakeholder consultation.
Photo Credit: Insite, PHS Community Services Society, Vancouver
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