40 overdoses at Kitchener consumption site, none fatal, new report shows
In first four months, new services added including nurse and social worker
There were 40 overdoses at the Kitchener consumption and treatment site between November and January, but none of them were fatal, a new report says.
The site also added new services in that three month timeframe, the report notes. Sanguen Health Centre, which operates the site, added a nurse practitioner and registered nurse who are onsite twice a week for primary care needs such as wound care and testing for Hepatitis C and HIV. As well, a social worker has been added twice a week to provide mental health counselling and support.
Staff at the site have referred some clients to other health services, most commonly mental health services. There were 334 referrals for counselling, crisis intervention and support groups.
There were also 23 referrals to addiction treatment, such as detox/withdrawal management, community treatment, the rapid access addiction clinic and opioid addiction therapies.
The report, which is set to go before regional councillors at next Tuesday's Community Services Committee, lists the number of clients who used the site, as well as the number of visits:
- November saw 699 visits from 116 unique clients. There were 15 overdoses.
- December saw 975 visits from 113 unique clients. There were 10 overdoses.
- January was 706 visits from 159 unique clients. There were 15 overdoses.
Permanent site gets $1M for construction
The temporary site, which operates on the second floor of 150 Duke St. W. in Kitchener, opened on Oct. 15, 2019. In the first three full months of operation, the report notes there were just two security incidents. Both happened in November and "were for non-CTS related issues occurring outside the site."
Staff also did needle recovery sweeps around the area and during 268 sweeps, 80 needles were picked up.
The region has received a one-time grant of just over $1 million to construct the permanent site on the main floor of the building. That funding was announced on Jan. 30. Construction is expected to begin in mid-April and is scheduled to be mostly done by mid-August.