Naloxone must be mandatory at B.C. rehab centres, experts say
Province refuses to force treatment centres to stock lifesaving overdose antidote
With rising numbers of overdose deaths, grieving families and medical experts are calling on the B.C. government to make Naloxone kits mandatory at all rehab centres.
"I am outraged. I just cannot believe it's not supplied. It should just be on hand, just like an epi pen is on hand when there are food allergies," said Sherry Robinson, whose son died a few days after he left a treatment centre in January.
CBC News has confirmed at least four people have died of overdoses in B.C. rehab centres this year.
There are no regulations requiring treatment centres to stock Naloxone, an antidote to opioids, which can save a patient from dying if administered quickly. Many centres just don't have it.
"There seems to be more regulations for dog kennels and animal rights than human rights in addiction treatment care," said Robinson.
"People in recovery are at high risk of death from relapse, as they have lost their tolerance to opioids," said Dr. Christy Sutherland, who is one of several addiction specialists who told CBC News Naloxone should not be optional for addiction treatment centres.
Naloxone 'should be standard practice'
"Their first use after a period of abstinence can be fatal. I think that having Naloxone on site with staff who are trained to administer it should be standard practice for all treatment centres," said Sutherland.
"It's entirely negligent — these are lifesaving key tools that any treatment centre ought to have," said Michelle Jansen, whose son Brandon died at a treatment centre in March that did not have Naloxone.
Since Naloxone became available without a prescription on March 22 and anyone can administer it after a brief training session, Jansen wants to know why the province has not made it mandatory for all detox and rehab centres.
"These treatment centres have a lack of regulation or responsibility ... we need emergency legislation ... the numbers speak for themselves. There have been enough cases where people, such as my son, have died because these treatment centres don't have the necessary tools on hand."
The Sunshine Coast Health Centre did not have Naloxone at the time of Brandon's death because staff were not yet allowed to administer it.
Some rehab centres won't stock it.
Just days after Brandon's death, Health Canada lifted restrictions on Naloxone, which is now available without a prescription.
"Since May we have had Naloxone kits at the facility and nearly every staff member is trained to use it," said Sunshine Coast Health Centre CEO Melanie Jordan Alsager.
Alsager says she attended a symposium last week with several B.C. treatment centre operators and many refuse to keep Naloxone kits on hand.
"We have spoken to many facilities in the province recently that say they still cannot get Naloxone into their facilities and still others tell us they will not have it on their premises," said Jordan Alsager, who wants Naloxone to be mandatory for all centres.
She says several faith-based abstinence programs voiced opposition to offering Naloxone for fear it might encourage patients to relapse.
Premier says Naloxone is optional
While in Ottawa meeting federal officials about the fentanyl crisis, Premier Christy Clark was asked why B.C. refuses to make Naloxone mandatory at rehab centres.
"It's at many, many rehab centres and the ones that think it's important to have it there, it's on site. I think through more education we're going to see more and more of them requesting it." said Clark.
"It makes sense for treatment centres to have Naloxone on hand and to have their staff trained and ready to use it," but it is not a requirement, said a statement from the Ministry of Health.
Provincial officials refuse to say how many overdose deaths have occurred in addiction treatment centres.
"When there are five or less, we do not disclose the number for privacy reasons," said the statement.
So far, 622 people have died of overdoses in B.C. this year, and the numbers have continued to rise since the premier appointed a task force in June to deal with the province's declared state of emergency.
"What we are starting to see, we think, is a stabilization of the numbers." said Clark.
The coroner service says it is just beginning to track the number of overdose deaths in rehab centres.
CBC News requested details of all deaths in rehab this year from the health authorities who license private centres but was told the information required a manual search of records and would not be available as of our deadline.
