In recent years, the duties of the Ottawa Fire Department are no longer limited to putting out fires or responding to traffic accidents. They must also act as first responders by administering naloxone, an opioid antidote, as the overdose crisis reaches unprecedented heights in the nation’s capital.
Between January and June 2023 alone, the Ottawa Fire Department had to administer nearly 80 doses of naloxone, which is a lot, acknowledges Nicolas DeFazio, media relations manager for the Ottawa Fire Department (SFO).
There have been many in recent years [richieste di oppioidi]especially in downtown Ottawa, he explains.
Teamwork
With the growing opioid crisis in Ottawa, firefighters have been trained to administer the product to assist the Ottawa Paramedic Service (OPS).
A partnership that greatly satisfied Marc-Antoine Deschamps, superintendent of the public relations department of the SPO.
There’s also the fact that once on site firefighters can initiate maneuvers other than naloxone, such as CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), ventilation and defibrillation if necessary, because naloxone loses much of its effectiveness if the heart stops beating. . And this is where CPR, ventilation, defibrillation and naloxone help save lives, he says.
Between January 1 and July 31, 2023, PAHO agents administered naloxone to 314 people. However, for the whole of 2022, agents had administered naloxone to 330 patients.
Deschamps therefore expects record figures by the end of the year.
This year, paramedics have responded to more than 1,100 opioid overdoses alone, so we’re not including the other types of overdoses we’ll respond to. So it is certain that there is an increase, continues Deschamps.
More support has been requested
The Ottawa paramedics public relations officer adds that overdoses don’t just happen at ByWard Market.
Now we find it all over the city, and we’re not just talking about contaminated drugs, but also counterfeit drugs bought on the black market that contain fentanyl, adds Deschamps.
So it takes a lot of resources, adds DeFazio.
We [vigili del fuoco] we have to wait for other calls as well [incendi, per esempio]. So when medical calls are high, it takes a long time.
Also, to limit field interventions, the SPO has begun distributing naloxone kits to people who may seriously need them.
For example, I responded to an overdose on a Sunday evening and administered naloxone. On the other hand, I didn’t have a nearby pharmacy to go get a new kit. So I gave him one directly so that if another overdose happens, there’s already another naloxone to give to the person, says Deschamps.
Radio-Canada requested an interview with the mayor of Ottawa, Mark Sutcliffe. But the latter did not make itself available.
(Radio-Canada.ca of 08/26/2023)
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