Education, health departments warn schools to tread carefully with naloxone policies

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This article was published 24/01/2017 (3191 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial departments of health and education have warned schools to be cautious about making plans to administer the antidote naloxone for suspected opioid overdoses.

Only people trained by a pharmacist should administer naloxone injections for a suspected fentanyl overdose, and it should not be done as a general first aid practice, provincial officials have told school trustees.

The letter went out to all school boards from Manitoba School Boards Association president Ken Cameron, but the MSBA consulted with both provincial departments.

An aide to Education Minister Ian Wishart said Tuesday Manitoba Health worked with the MSBA on the final version of Cameron’s letter before it went out.

Winnipeg School Division is considering stocking its schools with the naloxone in case any student suffers an opioid overdose.

“We need to pay attention to it,” trustee Lisa Naylor said last month. “It may be something we deem as a good idea, as part of a first aid kit.”

Naylor raised the possibility at a school board meeting in December and was told the WSD administration was already looking into it. Naylor said a parent, who is also a doctor, had told her another unidentified school division is also considering putting naloxone kits in schools.

Naloxone is an antidote that is effective in some cases of opioid overdoses. Fatal overdoses related to the fentanyl and other opioids have become a national health crisis in recent months.

Cameron said in his letter schools should call 911 immediately if an opioid overdose is suspected because first responders carry naloxone and are trained to use it. Meanwhile, staff should conduct CPR until help arrives.

Stocking and using naloxone remains optional, said Cameron, but only a person trained by a pharmacist should apply it.

Cameron said the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba has identified people most appropriate to carry naloxone kits to include “individuals who use opioids, both prescription and non-prescription, for legitimate medical purposes and for recreational purposes; individuals identified by the above group as the person(s) most likely to be present if they were to overdose; and any person who knows an opioid user and would like to be prepared in the event of an accidental overdose.”

WSD said in a prepared statement Tuesday morning that the guidelines will be helpful in discussions with its schools.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca