Opioid crisis in Brantford

Brantford, per capita, has the highest number of opioid-related emergency room visits in the province. No one is sure why Brantford is at the top of the list but Mayor Chris Friel is glad that report came out because he says maybe now the city will get some attention because it has long been ignored by the province.

“This area includes Brant county and Six Nations. So we have 155 000 people and it took us three years of fighting to get one detox rehab centre. What does that tell you?”

Brantford police have been working with the city on a strategy since last fall. Last week a man was charged with manslaughter because he allegedly sold a lethal dose of fentanyl.

We spoke to the head of Brantford’s emergency department; he says he’s seen the dramatic increase in opioid visits. A few years ago they were rare, one every 3-4 weeks, recently he saw five in one shift.

But he says the bigger problem is lack of space and other resources, the hospital is already over capacity.