Peterborough area reports record 78 fatal drug overdoses in 2023

Health officials report a record 78 suspected drug overdose deaths for the Peterborough area in 2023.

According to Peterborough Public Health’s opioid harms portal, the month of December 2023 saw nine reported deaths from drug poisonings, putting the final year-end total at 78, up from 59 in 2022 — a 32 per cent increase.

There were 44 fatal drug overdoses reported in 2021 for the region. The health unit’s data represents Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation.

The 78 deaths means on average a person died from a drug poisoning every five days, the health unit reports.

Medical officer of health Dr. Thomas Piggott says solutions to the drug poisonings are complex and the challenges are “long and worsening.”

However, he says reversing the death trend is not impossible.

“We aren’t doing things wrong, but we aren’t doing nearly enough,” he said. “The challenges we see today started 20-plus years ago with supports in early life, widening inequality and exposure to trauma. The work on prevention today will take years or decades to reverse the trajectory.”

Piggott says more investments and “dramatically improved” access to prevention, treatment and harm reduction services are required.

“These aren’t competing approaches but complementary and we need more of all of them,” he said. “And we need to engage folks affected in solving the crisis.”

2:30 Peterborough safe injection site works to expand to offer safe inhalation drug services

Among available services is the consumption and treatment site (CTS) operated by Fourcast on Simcoe Street in downtown Peterborough. Fourcast executive director Donna Rogers says the centre has recorded 21 overdoses over the last three months of 2023.

“We had 21 opportunities for that 78 number to now even be higher,” she said.

She echoed Piggott’s sentiment for more investment in services, noting the CTS site needs to support inhalation services, not just injection.

“What we’re seeing is a significant in mortality amongst people who inhale drugs,” she said.

Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith was unavailable for comment on Friday.

December 2023 saw 35 emergency department visits for suspected drug poisonings — on par with data for November.

For the entire year, there were 424 emergency department visits for drug poisonings — up from 405 reported in 2022.

The health unit reports that in 2023 approximately 57 per cent of emergency department visits were by men.

Fifty-six per cent of ED visits were made by people between the age of 25 and 44, the health unit reports.

For the year, there were 372 calls to 911 for opioid poisoning — an average of 31 per month.

There were jumps in 911 calls in August with 52 and December with 42 calls.

Of the 372 calls, 73 per cent were for men. Sixty-nine per cent of 911 calls were for people age 25 to 44.

The health unit says 16 per cent of 911 calls saw paramedics use naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

— more to come