Winnipeg organizations concerned over naloxone kit supply issues
Community organizations in Winnipeg are feeling the strain amid naloxone kit shortages.
Naloxone is a medication used to reverse the effects of opioids, and the short supply could have dire consequences.
For St. Boniface Street Links, an unlikely source has stepped in as a provider of naloxone.
"We actually have our drug users supplying the outreach team rather than the outreach team supplying the drug users. That’s quite a reverse, isn’t it?” said Marion Willis, founder and executive director of St. Boniface Street Links.
Willis said the doses are split between two outreach vans as the organization waits on its first naloxone kit shipment from the province's take-home naloxone program.
It was supposed to arrive last Friday but there's a supply chain-related delay. Willis said with every day that goes by the situation gets more frightening.
"Two vials may save a life, but given the drugs out there right now it may not be enough to revive somebody,” she said.
More than a week ago, Resource Assistance for Youth (RaY) told CTV News Winnipeg it was down to 60 doses and didn’t expect those to last very long.
"It's a desperate need and we just don’t have nearly enough of it still,” said Breda Vosters, RaY’s director of grants and information.
Vosters said RaY is still waiting on its naloxone kits, but, in the meantime, it's been able to get some doses of Narcan nasal spray through a nurse practitioner.
"It's a help for sure having this direct line to the WRHA as a solid partner to us is really, really good, but we just simply need so much more,” Vosters said.
The province said it distributed 2,000 kits last week to the highest-need locations. A thousand more have arrived and are meeting orders, and 9,000 more, which will cover all outstanding orders, are expected next week.
"Supply issues are expected to be resolved by the end of next week and the province will continue to have supply to meet the needs of Manitobans,” the province said in a statement.
Willis said she can only hope the few remaining doses will be enough.
"I can only hope the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service has better access than we do,” she said.
Last week, a Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service spokesperson said they had received no notifications regarding naloxone shortages.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson airport: police
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.
Some millennials say federal budget was 'a letdown' amid cost of living struggles
It’s a picture-perfect scene: Adam and Maria Reynolds are playing with their daughters inside their Port Coquitlam, B.C. home. Watching them together, you might not realize the Reynolds household is stretched to its limit.