Some city facilities to offer opioid OD-reversing drug, have staff trained in use

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This article was published 29/11/2022 (1012 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A fast-acting drug with the potential to save lives that are endangered by opioid overdose will soon be offered at many City of Winnipeg facilities.

“Naloxone will be distributed to front-facing city facilities in the coming weeks,” Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief Christian Schmidt told council’s community services committee Monday.

Naloxone can be used to temporarily reverse the effects of opioids and restore breathing, according to Health Canada’s website.

The city program would make Naloxone nasal spray available at public-facing city buildings, such as recreation centres, pools and libraries, while staff at those sites will also receive training on how to use them, said Schmidt.

While Schmidt did not provide an exact date when the program will be in place, he said there are few steps left to complete.

“I know that the supplies of Naloxone have been secured and they’re just working on the final plans, that staff have been trained,” he said.

Schmidt said the program is meant to help combat growth in the number of drug-related deaths in recent years.

Across Manitoba, a record 407 people fatally overdosed last year.

A WFPS spokeswoman said the service’s Naloxone distribution program is funded by the provincial government, through Shared Health. It first launched on Nov. 30, 2021.

“Over the past year, WFPS members have distributed approximately 600 kits to community members,” WFPS spokeswoman Erin Madden said in an emailed statement.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga