An update has been released for Ontario’s first temporary overdose prevention site (TOPS).
The Middlesex-London Health Unit says the city’s new downtown TOPS is already having an impact on the local opioid drug crisis, just two weeks after its opening.
The update reveals the site, located on 168 King Street, has seen client tally rise from four on day one to 44 this past Tuesday.
Dr. Christopher Mackie, Medical Officer of Health and CEO at the MLHU, said in a release that he is pleasantly surprised with how the site has been operating.
“The stories coming out of this facility are truly inspiring and beyond what we could have hoped for,” said Mackie.
MHLU added that staff and clients have not reported any concerns at the building. London police also say there has been a change in the level of activity in the area.
The site, the first of its kind in the province, shares its location with the regional HIV/Aids connection.
A similar permanent supervised drug consumption site is still in the works for London.