NZ ‘underprepared’ for opioid crisis, says expert

The supply of a life-saving medicine for drug overdoses meant no one in Wairarapa died after unwittingly consuming fentanyl on the weekend – but the Drug Foundation is warning that others might not be so lucky.

Foundation chief executive Sarah Helm said in some parts of the country, ambulance services don’t have access to the drug naloxone, which could save a person who has overdosed, and the entire health system was ‘‘grossly underprepared’’ for an opioid crisis.

‘‘We were very, very lucky that these people survived. It’s a miracle none of them have died,’’ Helm said.

Authorities are working to determine the prevalence of the synthetic opioid in the community, after it was detected for the first time in New Zealand in a powdered form following 12 people being hospitalised over 48 hours in the Wairarapa.

Two people said they thought they were taking cocaine and another thought they had purchased methamphetamine.

Each person responded well to naloxone, the opioid overdose medication that drug harm agencies have long warned is underfunded and under-resourced.

The foundation has previously raised alarm about the country’s vulnerability to an opioid crisis, which could become quickly widespread if a more commonly used drug, such as MDMA, methamphetamine or cocaine, was adulterated.

Pure powdered fentanyl is highly potent, with one gram being the equivalent to 20,000 safe doses.

Having an increased supply of naloxone that could be distributed within the community could save lives, Helm said. ‘‘An overdose can happen quite quickly with fentanyl. So we need to act really quickly. Waiting for an ambulance to turn up could be too late.’’

An injectable version of naloxone is funded, but can only be administered by health staff. A nasal spray that is able to be purchased by anyone costs $90 and most chemists don’t stock it, Helm said.

The Ministry of Health had been in contact with first responders and emergency departments and said supplies of naloxone were widely available, a spokesperson said. It is also available in general practices and urgent care clinics.

As an extra precaution, frontline police and heli-units in Masterton were receiving supplies of naloxone. Medical practices, pharmacies and emergency services had been alerted to the elevated risk of further fentanyl overdoses, the spokesperson said.