Brant County Health Unit throws support behind safe consumption site in Brantford

The Brant County Health Unit building. (Source: BCHU)

The Brant County Health Unit (BCHU) and the Board of Health are voicing support in favour of opening a Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site in Brantford-Brant.

The letter was signed by Dr. Rebecca Comley, acting medical officer of health, and Susan Brown, chair of the board of health said, “the public health benefits of CTS sites go beyond saving lives.”

According to the health unit, opioid use and overdose are public health concerns in Brantford-Brant, with the overdose death rate consistently above the provincial average.

According to statistics from the health unit, between 2019 and 2020, only about a quarter of fatal incidents in Brant occurred when there was another individual present. Only half of these deaths involved a resuscitation attempt, and in the majority, the opioid overdose antidote naloxone was not given.

The health unit pointed to national statistics, which say as of early 2020, there were 39 operational CTS sites in Canada.

Grand River Community Health Centre said in an email it is actively working with its CTS working group and community partners to implement a CTS in Brantford.

“We cannot estimate a potential date of implementation as we are in the early stage of development of our proposal,” the email reads. “We will be going back to the community for consultation, and there are several levels of approval still required.”

The letter comes on the heels of a public meeting held in Cambridge on the potential of opening a CTS site.

The AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area (ACCKWA) is applying to the province to run the CTS site on Main Street in Galt.

As part of that application process, a session was held for people living and owning businesses nearby, with representatives from various health and harm reduction groups on hand.

Cambridge Memorial Hospital and paramedics say a CTS site should help reduce EMS calls and ER visits.

To read the full letter click here.