Opioid-related incidents including overdoses and deaths were up across the board in 2023 according to Hastings Prince Edward Public Health.
There were 50 suspected drug-related deaths in the two counties last year including eight in December.
That was the highest of any month in 2023.
The 50 deaths are slightly more than 2022 when there were 46.
Also, according to Public Health’s monthly Opioid Monitoring Dashboard, Hastings Quinte Paramedic Services responded to 47 opioid-related calls in December, down slightly from November.
However, opioid-related calls for the year were up significantly from 172 in 2022 to 371 in 2023.
Ontario Provincial Police and Belleville Police Service were called to 18 overdose incidents last month.
That is down significantly from November’s 39 incidents when police responded to an unusually high number of overdoses.
Still, there is an increase in year-end numbers from 141 in 2022 to 188 last year.
Emergency department visits for opioid poisonings nearly doubled last year over the year before, rising from 131 to 252.
Anonymous reportings of overdoses to the Public Health website also increased – there were 29 in 2022 and 89 in 2023.
