As Ontario continues to grapple with an opioid crisis, the provincial government will be offering naloxone kits to police and firefighters across the province.
That’s the drug that stops an opioid overdose long enough to get the person to a hospital for medical intervention.
The announcement comes as new figures show there were 336 opioid-related deaths in the province from May to July — an increase of 68 per cent from the same period last year.
Health Minister Eric Hoskins says “the data demonstrates the urgent need for continued and heightened action to deal with this growing health emergency.”
However, the Hamilton Police Service is not jumping on the latest provincial offer. It says it wants to further study the details including supplies, storage and appropriate administration.
“We will be seeking clarification and awaiting further details from the province in order to determine next steps for the Hamilton Police Service,” Hamilton police said in a statement.
In March, Police Chief Eric Girt resisted the idea saying his officers are not health-care professionals and offered concerns over liability.
However, Hamilton Police Association (HPA) president Clint Twolan is supportive of the kits being deployed.
“It’s something we’ve been pushing for some time now and we’ve been pushing on a provincial level through the Police Associations of Ontario,” he told CHML’s The Bill Kelly Show.
“The PAO has been in talks with the provincial government and certainly putting our case forward. I think it’s a great announcement. I’ve said it in the past that this shouldn’t fall on the shoulders of municipal taxpayers.”
Twolan adds, “we view it as a protection for our members, but it’s also for protection for the people we serve. We’re sent to a call where someone is suffering or in distress, we want to do everything we can to help those people.”
The HPA president says “when our officers come on scene and come into contact with these drugs, sometimes you don’t have a heads up and you don’t know what you’re getting into. We’ve been fortunate, knock on wood, so far in Hamilton.”
— With files from the Canadian Press
Comments