The numbers are startling.
New data from Hamilton Public Health shows emergency room visits from opioid overdoses in the city have nearly doubled compared to last year.
The latest numbers are from the first half of 2016, which show 24 opioid overdose deaths in Hamilton, Ont.
The city recorded 45 opioid deaths in 2015 and 37 the year before.
Associate Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Jessica Hopkins, says they are seeing “three to four deaths a month” in Hamilton.
Hopkins says “these are people from all walks of life,” and “across the City of Hamilton it is not localized to any one area of the city.”
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The provincial government recently launched a website that makes opioid-related data available to health-care workers and the public.
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