Suspected opioid overdoses contributing to backlog at coroner's office
Ontario's chief coroner says a surge in overdose deaths is putting a strain on medical examiners.
At least seven people have died of suspected overdoses since the beginning of August in downtown Toronto, prompting police to issue a warning about street drugs laced with fentanyl or carfentanil — powerful opioids that can be deadly.
Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario's Chief Coroner, says his office must probe any unnatural death.
"The fact that there's a drug or some other cause that isn't disease-related, provides an opportunity to identify some recommendations to inform prevention or reduction of future deaths," Huyer told CBC Radio's Metro Morning.
However, the overdose deaths are creating a backlog when it comes to dealing with other fatalities, he said. Already, the coroner recognized this as a significant problem and are making changes to speed things up.
It's unclear how big the backlog is, but overdoses are a major contributing factor.
Huyer says there's been a 46 per cent increase in overdose deaths. Put another way: "400 additional people died in 2017 over the year 2016," he said.
"We have asked all of those involved ... to make best efforts to complete cases within three months where there's an opioid-related death."
Ontario has seen steady increase in the number of overdose deaths in recent years.
The coroner is also expanding the amount of information it collects in these cases, with the goal of identifying broader trends.
