A Naloxone kit (CHAT News file photo)

By Charles Lefebvre

Opioid Crisis

No current plans to extend Naloxone training to other city departments

Jul 9, 2019 | 4:05 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — A Calgary city councillor’s recent experience saving a man who could have died from a drug overdose has once again brought Naloxone kits to the spotlight.

Over the weekend, Diane Colley-Urquhart, a Calgary city councillor, came across an unresponsive man in southwest Calgary. Colley-Urquhart, a registered nurse, grabbed the Naloxone kit she carried and used it to reverse the man’s overdose.

The incident has led to discussions about the opioid epidemic in Alberta and the use of Naloxone kits. Earlier this year, Colley-Urquhart passed out the kits to Calgary councillors and administration and gave them a demonstration on how to use the kit.

Naloxone kits can be picked up by anyone for free at pharmacies across Alberta. Several organizations, including HIV Community Link, will also offer training to businesses on how to administer the drug, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

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Joe Cartwright, the acting commissioner of corporate services, says two organizations which fall under the city’s umbrella are currently trained to administer Naloxone.

“As part of our standard suite of services, our police department and our fire services group are equipped with the kits and the proper training to use it,” he said on Tuesday.

“We always are assessing our emergency response, and if there is anything further that we should do or could do.” -Joe Cartwright, Acting commissioner of corporate services.

Cartwright adds there are currently no plans to extend the training to other city workers at this time.

“We always are assessing our emergency response, and if there is anything further that we should do or could do,” he said. “We felt right now with the risk assessment that was done, that our emergency responders have the capabilities and the training to be able to do it, and right now that’s the stance we have taken.”

While Naloxone training is not planned to expand further right now, Cartwright says it may happen in the future.

“We’re always looking at our emergency response procedures, they’re updated at least yearly and more frequently as required, so if there were incidents that warrant the change, we would definitely look at that,” he said.

According to recent numbers from the province, 789 people died from an unintended opioid overdose in 2018. The Medical Examiner’s Office also released a report into deaths from 2017, showing that males made up 77 per cent of opioid deaths in Alberta that year.