News

Public Health evaluates Guelph’s Overdose Prevention Site (OPS)

September 19, 2019

Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health has completed an evaluation of Guelph’s Overdose Prevention Site (OPS). Clients and staff members were asked about strengths and challenges, positive or negative outcomes for clients and if the OPS was effective at keeping people who use substances safe.

Key strengths included:

  • The welcoming and safe environment
  • Accessibility to harm reduction supplies and education
  • On-site medical care and
  • The ability to receive referrals to other services such as housing, health care and addictions treatment.

Key challenges identified included:

  • Space and privacy concerns
  • Hours of operation
  • Wait times
  • Limited staff
  • Some limitations on referrals

Of 45 overdoses at the site, 100 percent were reversed, and no deaths occurred. In the words of one client: “If I had used [drugs] somewhere else, I would be dead.”

The evaluation looked at operations from May 2018 through to March 2019 and involved interviewing 51 clients and 14 staff. The site has transitioned to the new provincial model of Consumption and Treatment Services which provides a safe and legal space to use drugs with on-site nursing and peer support, harm reduction supplies and referrals to other services. During the evaluation period, the service had 4,085 visits with 43 percent of those visits being from repeat clients.

The broader community impact of the site was not covered in this evaluation but may be in future studies.

Learn more about preventing an opioid overdose.