City workers saving lives with naloxone doses

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This article was published 29/09/2023 (784 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A program that trains City of Winnipeg staff to administer naloxone to people experiencing suspected drug overdoses appears to be paying life-saving dividends.

The anti-opioid medication has been provided at least six times by staff at city facilities between April and August, according to data provided to the Free Press.

The number includes two doses at the Fort Rouge Leisure Centre, one at Millennium Library, two at St. John’s Library, and one at St. James-Assiniboia Library.

“When it comes to any overdose that’s involving a drug like fentanyl, we know seconds matter and it’s not a secret it can take the paramedics a number of minutes to arrive on scene,” Cory Guest, a public education co-ordinator with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, said in an interview.

“(Through this training) city staff could do something to hopefully revive the patient enough where they start to breathe prior to us getting there.”

The program, in place since January, was established in response to public health concerns about opioids. Employees at city recreation and leisure centres, indoor pools, fitness centres and libraries were trained to administer naloxone nasal spray.

The fast-acting drug can temporarily reverse the effects of opioid overdoses and restore breathing within two to five minutes, which can provide more time for emergency services to arrive, the city has noted.

Guest said the city did not expect to be inundated with a huge number of suspected overdoses at public buildings. He deemed the project a success, since it helped several people at risk of dying due to overdose.

He noted staff also received training on the trauma frequently linked to drug use, which was meant to help ensure a compassionate response to people in crisis.

Guest said the availability of naloxone is important, since the increased substance use continues to place a heavy demand on WFPS resources.

“The toxicity and the lethality of the drugs we’re seeing does continue to increase,” he said.

According to city data, since August 2022, at least seven additional doses of naloxone were administered by staff who are either contracted by the city or not regularly posted at those public facilities.

That included six doses at Millennium Library given by members of the Downtown Community Safety Partnership, Winnipeg Police Service, WFPS, security guards or community safety hosts. One dose was administered by a community safety host at the Cornish Library.

The WFPS gave out 2,018 doses of naloxone in 2019, 3,786 in 2020, 4,071 in 2021, 3,631 in 2022, and 3,733 in 2023 (to date), according to information posted in the City of Winnipeg’s open data portal.

Coun. Sherri Rollins, who has championed calls for a safer drug supply and other steps to prevent overdose deaths, said it’s encouraging to see municipal staff make use of naloxone doses, as illicit drug use continues to pose a significant public health threat.

“It’s at our facilities because, unfortunately, we’re in a drug-poisoning crisis and the reality is people need naloxone kits to save lives and they are saving lives. Insofar that it’s saving lives, that’s a good thing. Insofar as there continues to be drug poisoning that necessitates naloxone… I continue to grieve with families in the city… when unfortunately, folks can’t be revived,” said Rollins.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga