Strategies
Consumption and Treatment Services
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Consumption and Treatment Services
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Drug and substance use is an important community health issue that has significant impact on people who use drugs, their families, and the broader community. These impacts include death and disability from overdose, the spread of infectious diseases, injection drug litter and injection in public spaces. City of Hamilton Public Health Services is planning to expand its services for people who use drugs to include Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS).
Substance Use in Hamilton
Substance use remains a top cause of avoidable deaths in Hamilton. The rate of opioid-related deaths in Hamilton has been consistently higher than the provincial rate, and Hamilton continues to see increasing opioid overdose deaths, 9-1-1 calls for opioid overdose, and emergency department visits for suspected overdose.
For example, in 2018, 123 people died due to opioid-related overdose in Hamilton (109% higher – more than double – the provincial rate). Among health units in Ontario, Hamilton has the third highest opioid-related mortality rate (2018) in the province, behind Thunder Bay District Health Unit and Algoma Public Health. Hamilton has the highest opioid-related mortality rate among southern Ontario health units (2018).
Updates:
Jan 20, 2020 - Public Health Services submitted a partial application to Health Canada for an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) to operate a CTS.
Jan 14, 2020 - Public Health Services submitted a partial application to the provincial Ministry of Health for funding and approval to operate a Consumption and Treatment Services program.
Consumption and Treatment Services
Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) are locations where people consume pre-obtained drugs in a safe, hygienic environment under the supervision of trained and authorized harm reduction staff. These services reduce the harm caused from substance use (e.g. overdose, infection), while offering additional services such as counselling, primary care, addiction treatment, and connection to critical social supports such as housing. Currently there are 17 approved CTS sites in Ontario, including Toronto, Guelph, Kitchener, London, St. Catharines and Hamilton.
In 2017, Hamilton’s Supervised Injection Site Needs Assessment and Feasibility Study found that Hamilton would benefit from one or more of these services due to annual increases in opioid-related overdose deaths, high rates of infectious disease, and community support demonstrated during community and stakeholder consultation.
Photo Credit: Insite, PHS Community Services Society, Vancouver
Date modified
August 16, 2022