High Rates of Drug-related ED Visits – October 30th-31st (UPDATED)

Date/Time/ Approximate Location

November 6, 2019

Event description

Public notification of a WECOSS Alert took place on November 1st which described elevated rates of Emergency Department admissions related to overdose/intoxication/substance (mis)use. In addition, the Essex-Windsor EMS Opioid Surveillance reports received over the same period were beyond the threshold required to issue an Alert.

This subsequent Alert provides an update as the WECHU Overdose Monitoring and Surveillance System has continued to observe similar elevated counts in the days following the initial Alert. The number of EMS Opioid Surveillance reports have also remained consistent since the initial cases were reported on November 1st. On November 5th the number of overdose/intoxication/substance (mis)use-related ED visits again exceeded the threshold limit. Of the 7 cases which were presented at area EDs on this date, 4 were confirmed to be amphetamine-related and one was confirmed to be related to opioid use.

Partners involved in the WECOSS continue to monitor this increase and are working to understand more about these reported cases.

Response

Please share this information with clients and relevant partners.  If you are aware of any linkages between these cases, or other causes for these increases please contact the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

For signs & symptoms of opioid overdose and what to do, visit the WECOSS website: How Can Overdose Be Prevented?

Source

WECHU (Acute Care Enhanced Surveillance Application - ACES), Essex-Windsor EMS Operational Stress Notification System