Sudbury's public board of health has approved the idea of holding a summit to examine the opioid drug crisis in Sudbury and Northeastern Ontario.
The Sudbury Board of Health voted Thursday to give formal approval to the idea of holding a leadership summit with the involvement of Medical Officer of Health Dr. Penny Sutcliffe. This was similar to a resolution approved by Greater Sudbury City Council earlier this week.
A special presentation was made to the board by Sandra Lacle, Executive Director, Public Health Sudbury & Districts (PHSD) on the importance of Addressing the Toxic Health Crisis.
Lacie acknowledged that overdose deaths were alarming and added the situation in Sudbury was so urgent there was a need for community leaders to do something.
Lacle said the crisis needed a collective all-hands-on-deck approach to find out why the numbers - the rates of death and the rates of addiction -- are consistently high in Sudbury and other parts of Northeastern Ontario. when compared to the rest of the province.
She quoted statistics of toxicity rates going back to 2018, comparing the Sudbury health jurisdiction with the rest of Ontario.
"Our rates are increasing faster, worsening as compared to Ontario or Canada as a whole. These rates of drug toxicity deaths are intensifying despite the community's best efforts. We do not know why the rates of death are high and worsening in our area, or what puts our population at greater risk of death from opioid use."
Lacle asked some crucial questions.
"Could it be that a greater percentage of our population uses opioids? Or that our supply is more toxic? Or that our emergency health and mental health care services are less accessible? Or that many of the underlying factors that could put someone at risk of addiction are more prevalent in the North and locally?" Lacle asked.
In another part of her presentation Lacle noted that there are 34 local boards of health in Ontario, with seven in Northern Ontario. Of the seven local health boards in Northern Ontario, five of them have the highest death rates in the province, said Lacle.
Those are the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, Public Health Sudbury and Districts, Algoma Health Unit, Northwestern Health Unit and the Porcupine Health Unit.
In her presentation she asked the meeting "So what is it going to take to reverse the trend in harms due to the toxic drug supply?"
The presentation showed a circular graph indicating that participants in the summit would need to include people who use substances and have lived experiences. It would have to include the community groups at risk and the wider communities as well.
Lacle said there was "the need for everyone to be part of the solution going forward."
Lacle's presentation said the participants in the summit should also include local social agencies that provide mental health and addiction rehabilitation services, local school boards, NOSM University, Health Sciences North, and the Greater Sudbury Police Service, -- in all more than two dozen organizations.
Lacle said the summit idea came out of a meeting of the Sudbury Community Drug Strategy and that it be organized for this fall. Lacle said the hope is "the summit will rally local commitments that better understand and act to improve determinants of substance use, reduce harms from substance use, and reverse the trend and preventable tragedies that have been faced by far too many other friends, family members and community neighbors."
Len Gillis covers health care issues as well as mining industry news
