Ministry of Health issues overdose alert after two drug deaths in P.A.

On the weekend, the Prince Albert Police Service alerted the public about potentially fatal fentanyl circulating the city.

Parkland Ambulance paramedics said they responded to a sharper increase in the number of overdose calls than they normally would on a weekend as well. While they couldn’t attribute the overdoses to a single substance, Director of Public Affairs and Support Services Lyle Karasiuk suggested it’s a good idea for the public to take advantage of the province’s free Take Home Naloxone program.

“People often think it deals with people who are marginalized… and we need to sort of get past that stigma barrier and also understand that opioid poisoning can happen to anybody regardless of walks of life,” said Karasiuk.

“It could happen to your child at home because they’ve been bullied or took something someone gave them at school. It could happen to someone who works in an office and thought they needed something to cope with stress. It could happen to a senior who accidentally takes too many pills and causes accidental poisoning.”

Naloxone reverses the effects of an opioid overdose temporarily, restoring breathing in a few minutes and buying time for EMS to arrive. Saskatchewan residents who are at risk of an opioid overdose or might witness an opioid overdose are eligible for free kits which can also be purchased at pharmacies.

“There is a Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act that if you recognize that an emergency exists, and let’s say you use a naloxone kit on someone, you won’t be charged for trying to help in saving someone’s life,” said Karasiuk.

Karasiuk explains how to use a naloxone kit when an overdose is suspected.

The province also makes available drug testing strips specifically for fentanyl which can help identify if there are other contaminants in a drug.

On Monday, Saskatchewan NDP Mental Health and Addictions Shadow Minister Betty Nippi-Albright called on the Saskatchewan Party to ‘save lives in Prince Albert.’

“We’ve already seen the havoc a bad batch of drugs has wreaked in Saskatoon, leading to hundreds of overdoses – and those are just the ones we know of – and likely causing many deaths. How many more of our young people – our future – will have to die before the Sask. Party Government takes action? We know these drugs have been present in Saskatoon for weeks and only recently has the government initiated an emergency response.”

Nippi-Albright suggested a public health emergency be declared in Prince Albert.

“We need a massive expansion of education about these drugs in the region too, and we need to provide Naloxone and other forms of support,” she said.

Just a few days ago, the Government of Saskatchewan activated the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) to enhance its response to the toxic drug crisis in Saskatoon. The city had reported over 300 overdoses and multiple suspicious deaths since Feb. 15.

Also in February, the province announced measures to help protect communities against fentanyl and methamphetamine aimed at curbing the production, transportation and sale of the drugs.

Concerns about opioid overdoses appear to be spreading outside of Prince Albert and Saskatoon. In La Ronge, Giant Tiger pharmacist Matt Preston said in the last four months alone, he has dispensed more than 100 kits of NARCAN, the nasal spray from of naloxone. In the eight months prior, he said he only gave out about four or five.

“There seems to be more public awareness of it, and also the other thing we have noticed is a lot of family members coming in and picking up kits,” Preston said.

Naloxone is financially covered at pharmacies for those with Treaty status.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

by Teena Monteleone

Ministry of Health issues overdose alert after two drug deaths in P.A.

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