TIMMINS -- Two Timmins physicians continue to advocate for changes to the way people with opioid addictions are treated.

They say without medical treatment to manage the withdrawal symptoms from opioids, 90 per cent of people relapse and are at greater risk of dying.

“In 2020, there looked to be around 44 total deaths, so per capita that’s pretty high for Timmins,” said Dr. Julie Samson. "So it is urgent. We see it as frontline workers all the time, working in the emergency department. (In the) last 10 weeks, I think we’ve had ... more than one per week.”

The progress Samson and Dr. Louisa Marion-Bellemare have made since October caught the attention of META:PHI, a provincial group that supports healthcare providers treating people struggling with substance use disorders.

META:PHI, a collaborative in southern Ontario, asked the physicians to co-lead a provincial task force that includes other addictions physicians. It will collect data and present it and past findings to the government.

Evidence-based treatment

“The goal of this is to be providing patients with evidence-based treatment and a standardized approach of care," said Marion-Bellemare. "So if that patient is in Timmins and requires treatment in a residential treatment centre in somewhere like Belleville, the treatment approach will be both evidence-based and standardized to some degree. It will remain personalized but still be evidence-based and standardized.”

The Cochrane District Detox Centre in Smooth Rock Falls sees 500-700 patients a year, but doesn't have the staff to offer medical detoxification.

It currently runs 14 beds, two of which are crisis beds offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

“We are definitely looking at some ways where we can enhance our services, where we can reach out to more people," said Denis Beaulac, executive director of the Cochrane District Detox Centre.

"So for example, we’re looking at some virtual programs. We’re also speaking with a lot of the other providers in Timmins, to see which ways we can help them and a lot of the other providers across the district."

Marion-Bellemare said two detox beds recently established at the Timmins and District Hospital have allowed them to medically treat 18 people since Dec. 7.