The city of Barrie continues to battle an ever-worsening opioid crisis.
Despite attempts to shine a brighter light on the issue, the crisis is only getting worse — with the city reporting the third highest crude rate of emergency room visits for opioid overdoses in the province.
From January to September 2020, the city saw 94 deaths, which is 50 per cent higher than the previous three years.
With new stay-at-home measures announced earlier this month, the potential impact is deeply concerning to many who have seen first-hand the impact.
France Young is an outreach counsellor and case manager for Youth Haven, a local organization that assists youth aged 16 to 24 experiencing homelessness with support and emergency shelter.
Youth Haven recently launched the Community Care Connection program, a collaboration between the organization and South Simcoe police to distribute backpacks with naloxone kits along with information on how and when to use it, personal care items and gift cards.
“I sit on the opioid advisory committee (and) I’ve been listening to the front-line responders and (their) increased concerns around opioid overdose and drug use. We know it’s a big issue we’re dealing with right now," Young said.
The consensus from those conversations, she added, was that it was extremely important to find ways to reduce the prejudice around people carrying naloxone and reduce the stigma of what it means to have a "naloxone-ready community."
“A lot of people seem to feel (an) opioid overdose is just centred around high drug use, or even the homeless population. What we are all aware of is that opioids as its purpose is to reduce pain," Young said. "Lots of people have these prescribed for health issues or pain management.
"What we’re seeing… is it can affect anybody, any profession, any group in society. One thing we do know is when people are having mental health issues… when there’s pain involved, drugs can be an outlet so there is a concern that someone may end up overdosing with an opioid at this time," she added.
Young said the program, which she hopes to eventually see grow to include other communities, such as Barrie, is about being proactive and getting naloxone into hands prior to an overdose occurring.
“These packages connect people to their local community resources as well as trying to deal with opioids as a pain relief or as an addiction," she said. "We want to be proactive as much as we can to try and stem the flow of overdoses in the area. We are just in the infancy stages, so we’re hoping to run it for the next six months. ... I am sure it will be successful.”
Barrie pharmacist Santhosh Sekharan, who is the owner of Little Avenue Pharmacy and New Life Family Pharmacy, agrees with the importance of being proactive and educated. He has begun dispensing naloxone, which is the opioid-poisoning antidote, to patients with their medication.
The most recent guidelines, he noted, state any opiate prescription should have naloxone dispensed with it, but unfortunately there are a number of barriers to that occurring.
“Is it actually happening? No, it’s not. One study said only six per cent of opiate prescriptions are given a naloxone kit with it," Sekharan said. "We are looking to increase that and want Barrie to be a naloxone-ready community, which means everyone in the community has access to a naloxone kit, is aware of the signs of an opioid overdose and knows how to administer it. If we can get everyone to have a naloxone kit on hand with every opioid prescription, that will help us get to that goal.
“We’ve found at a societal level there needed to be more education and reducing the stigma," he told BarrieToday. "We are seeing a crisis in Simcoe and in Barrie. Our numbers are much higher than the provincial average in terms of deaths, overdoses and hospitalizations."
Sekharan has taken his expertise and worked with other pharmacies, businesses and organizations in an attempt to educate people on how and when to use the medication.
“I am not necessarily talking to those who may be in trouble, but to anyone who can help them," he said. "It’s a whole idea of creating a supportive community and always having that access to naloxone to help get us on the right track. Often, people think 'I’m not going to need it.' No, you may not, but you may be in a position to help someone.”
Being able to recognize the signs of an overdose is also extremely important, Sekharan added, because not all overdoses present like how we see in movies.
“Typically, in movies when someone overdoses, they’re comatose and passed out,” he said, adding you don’t have to wait for that to happen.
One of the most common signs of an overdose, Sekharan explained, is shallow breathing.
"I’ve had to resuscitate someone who’s had an overdose (where) there’s been gurgling, snoring… sometimes you will see blue lips (or) dilated pupils. The biggest thing to watch for is the breathing, though,” he said.
Sekharan says it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
“The best thing is even if you’re unsure, naloxone is completely safe, so if you’re in doubt, you can use it and it will not harm them… but it will potentially save their life," he said.
Sekharan is working to help make Barrie a naloxone-ready community, and wants to see as many people as possible have kits on hand.
“If you know someone who is taking opiates, or if you’re getting an opiate prescription, if you’re a member in the community who may come in to contact with someone who’d potentially take opiates, I would recommend having naloxone on hand," he said. "Several studies have shown it’s quite cost-effective and very easy to access and you could potentially save a life."
The pharmacist likened it to wearing a seat-belt.
“It’s better to have the seatbelt on, not that you’re expecting an accident, but if you do have one you’re protected.”
