Pubdate: Fri, 17 Apr 2015
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2015 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Betty Ann Adam - with Calgary Herald files
Page: A3

SASK. NEEDS NARCOTIC ANTIDOTE KITS, DOCTOR SAYS

Antidote kits could save the lives of people who overdose on fentanyl
and other opiates, says a Saskatoon addictions doctor.

The province, or even just the Saskatoon Health Region, could follow
the lead of the Alberta Blood First Nation, which last month began
training people in the community to use Naloxone kits to rescue drug
users who have accidentally overdosed on fentanyl, a powerful street
drug that has killed at least 16 people at that First Nation.

"It was a very smart, coordinated response by a First Nation to a
community need. I think we should make (Naloxone kits) available here
as well," said Dr Peter Butt, who noted fentanyl is a growing problem
in Saskatoon.

At least three people have died in the city from using the
drug.

Alberta's provincial government recently announced it will provide the
kits to high-risk users through programs such as needle exchange
outreach groups.

Fentanyl, a painkiller up to 100 times more potent than morphine, can
cut off oxygen to the heart and brain. Naloxone reverses these
effects, allowing users to breathe again for 30 to 40 minutes before
the antidote wears off. It offers a critical window of time to rush
victims to hospital, where more life-saving care awaits.

Providing families and peers of drug users with training to use the
injection antidote is comparable to giving Epi-pens to families of
people with life-threatening allergies, Butt said.

He will be a prominent presenter at a two-day conference on methadone
and suboxone opioid substitution therapy this week in Saskatoon.
Saskatchewan health care workers snapped up all 175 spaces, and
organizers have a waiting list.

Butt said the province needs to enhance its response to the growing
opiate problem by having enough doctors and pharmacists to prescribe
and dispense methadone and suboxone, which reduces withdrawal symptoms
in addicts.

He said Saskatoon has a waiting list of at least 50 people to get into
the methadone program.

"We know these people are injecting drugs, they're at high risk of
getting HIV and Hepatitis C, and yet we're turning them away because
of the lack of capacity. It is horrible," Butt said.

"I feel uncomfortable because I know there's an unmet need out
there."

Some of the pressure could be taken off pharmacists who oversee daily
visits from addicts who come to drink the medication, by shifting
stabilized patients to primary health care clinics with counsellors
who could continue to support them in their recovery.

That would open spaces with the pharmacist for new patients still
adjusting to abstaining from narcotics and more in need of the higher
intensity care.

Some people are using services they no longer need, "but there's no
way to graduate them out to something at a lower level," Butt said.

"There's no place to send (them.) They still need their methadone but
they're doing well and could be integrated into a primary care model,
but we don't have that model out there to provide that type of service."

"It's a case of matching services with client needs, (which) is a lean
approach - a thoughtful, reflective, continuous quality improvement
approach, which is how (services) should be used ... It's not one size
fits all. There is a way of shifting resources around, but it takes
work."

Adequate response to the growing drug problem may require a large
initial investment, but the benefits of treating addictions ripple
throughout the health care system, policing, the justice system and
education. The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse reports that for
every dollar spent on addictions services, seven dollars of negative
impact on society are saved.
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MAP posted-by: Matt