Officers carrying naloxone kits can save lives, RCMP says
While EMS and emergency medical personnel respond to the bulk of drug overdose calls, RCMP and municipal police are increasingly drawn into the fray as the opioid crisis continues to take its toll on Alberta.
Postmedia has obtained preliminary data on how frequently RCMP members are administering naloxone on the job. The information comes as the Calgary Police Service prepares to roll out its own fentanyl antidote kits and naloxone training to officers starting on Feb. 28.
Alberta RCMP members have administered naloxone — an antidote used to reverse the effects of fentanyl and other powerful opioids — a total of three times since officers were provided with the nasal spray kits last October.
Across Canada, RCMP have administered the antidote 79 times since October. On just six of those occasions the victim of the overdose didn’t make it.
“I don’t think we can understate how bad it is. This is a crisis that is affecting all of Alberta,” said RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters.
“Certainly there is value in police officers carrying the antidote. Two individuals in the province are alive as a result, including one of our own officers.”
The occasions RCMP officers in Alberta have administered the antidote have been few but sig- nificant — including when officers were called upon to treat one of their own who accidentally overdosed while executing a search warrant at a drug lab on Dec. 30 in Grande Prairie.
The other two incidents occurred in southern Alberta, generally considered to be the hardesthit area of the province.
On Jan. 28, an RCMP officer in the midst of a call at a Red Deer address became aware of a totally unrelated person suffering from an overdose nearby and was able to administer the antidote before EMS could even arrive.
And on Dec. 3 in Pincher Creek, RCMP officers were flagged down at the side of the road to help someone suffering from an overdose in a vehicle. The victim in that case did not survive.
Peters emphasized that the antidote shouldn’t be viewed as an “easy fix” by fentanyl users.
“When you’re unconscious and not breathing for a period of time, that has a long term effect on your brain. Just being alive doesn’t speak to the quality of life you may have as a result,” Peters said.
CPS said it’s expecting to have all of its mandatory naloxone training for members completed by June 30.