Pool, library staff trained to use naloxone

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This article was published 10/01/2023 (998 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Staff at some City of Winnipeg facilities have been trained to administer a drug that quickly reverses an opioid overdose.

The city said Tuesday staff at recreation and leisure centres, indoor pools, fitness centres and libraries are able to use nasal-spray naloxone, a drug that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and restore breathing, as part of standard first aid.

In late November, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief Christian Schmidt told city council’s community services committee the drug would be distributed to “front-facing city facilities in the coming weeks.”

“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 at the time.

Schmidt said the program will help combat the increase in the number of drug-related deaths in recent years.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service data shows its personnel administered naloxone at 2,046 incidents last year. As of Tuesday, data show, WFPS has administered it 46 times so far this year.

“Opioids continue to be a significant public health concern and increasing access to naloxone will save lives,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said in a statement Tuesday.

Meantime, Winnipeg police cadets revived a 26-year-old man who was suffering from an opioid overdose in a Winnipeg Transit shelter on Graham Avenue Monday evening.

The cadets, who were flagged down by a Downtown Biz staffer, found the man unconscious and unresponsive at about 6:20 p.m., police said.

They called for an ambulance and administered two doses of naloxone.

The man is expected to recover, police said.

Police said the man had used “down,” a street drug that typically consists of an opioid, such as fentanyl or heroin, mixed with a stimulant such as amphetamine or caffeine.

— Staff