Windsor Essex County Health Unit monitors overdoses

11 recent overdoses, including five from opioid use, has caught the attention of the Windsor Essex County Health Unit.

The health unit collects data on opioid overdoses from hospital emergency departments. This data is reported by the Ministry of Health and long-term care on a weekly basis.

Information from paramedics can also be used to determine where the overdose happened and add context to the situation. Paramedics can also provide information on whether or not Nalaxone, a drug used to treat overdoses, was administered to the victim of an overdose at the scene.

According to medical officer of health, Dr. Wajid Ahmed, the health unit uses statistical methods to identify days with a higher than expected number of overdose cases being reported. The primary method used is called statistical process control.

“The system that we have developed, it triggers us if there is any deviation or change in what is the expected number of opioid-related calls that our health care provider receives,” said Ahmed. “So we do the two weeks moving average and any major change in that two weeks moving average by two or more standard deviations and that qualifies for further investigation and consideration of issuing an alert.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing a substance-related crisis, contact the local crisis line at 519-973-4435, call 911, or go to your closest hospital emergency department.