Naloxone kits have been widely available across Canada for the past six years.
The kits are also in the hands of emergency response workers when responding to calls for service if they encounter an individual who they suspect is having an opioid overdose.
High school students across the country will start to get training on how to use the nasal kits. Their training will primarily focus on seeing if the person suspected of having an overdose is responding and breathing, and if they are not they are taught CPR they can administer.
If it’s suspected that the person is overdosing from an opioid, the students are trained to give the Naloxone kit nasally, and to call 911 immediately.
Students will learn the following:
- What are opioids and how do opioid overdoses happen
- What is Naloxone and how does it work
- Recognizing a suspected opioid overdose
- Responding to a suspected opioid overdose including calling 911
quickly- performing CPR if needed and giving nasal Naloxone
However, the younger population (15yrs – 24yrs) is growing quickly into being the largest age group needing hospitalization for opioid overdoses.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, over 5,368 apparent opioid toxicity deaths happened from January–September 2021 with most opioid overdose deaths being accidental.
Sandra Clarke is ACT Foundation’s Executive Director and has said that “Enhancing ACT’s High School CPR and AED Program with opioid awareness and response training is a next step in empowering youth to respond to life-threatening emergencies. This new program will see teachers training hundreds of thousands of students in how to respond to opioid-associated emergencies…”
Here is the list of where to find a free naloxone kit.
