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
Norovirus spreading at 'higher frequency' than expected in Canada
Norovirus is spreading at a 'higher frequency' than expected in Canada, specifically, in Ontario and Alberta, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Weather system that caused deadly U.S. tornadoes heads north to Canada, bringing rain and snow
The same storm system that brought deadly tornadoes to parts of the U.S. is heading north, hammering some Canadian provinces with rain and snow, according to latest forecasts.
'Deeply unhappy' grocery shoppers plan to boycott Loblaw-owned stores in May
A boycott targeting Loblaw is gaining momentum online, with what could be thousands of shoppers taking their money elsewhere in May.
These two chemists were friends for decades. A DNA test revealed they were actually cousins
Jim Arner was always interested in genealogy and discovering more about his ancestry. But after submitting his own DNA test, he learned an old work colleague was actually a distant cousin.
McGill University says pro-Palestinian demonstrators 'refuse' to collaborate, encampment violates policies
McGill University says the growing encampment on its lower field in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza violates its policies.
French actor Gerard Depardieu in police custody, legal team says
French actor Gérard Depardieu has been taken into police custody in Paris to face questioning, his lawyer told CNN Monday.
U.S. CDC says it's identified 1st documented cases of HIV transmitted through cosmetic needles
Three women diagnosed with HIV after getting 'vampire facial' procedures at an unlicensed medical spa are believed to be the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through a cosmetic procedure using needles.
Tractor-trailers with no one aboard? The future is near for self-driving trucks on U.S. roads
On a three-lane test track along the Monongahela River, an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rounded a curve. No one was on board.
Health minister 'deeply appreciative' of doctors but capital gains changes here to stay
Health Minister Mark Holland says while he is 'deeply appreciative' of the work doctors in Canada do, the federal government has no plans to scrap the proposed capital gains tax changes outlined in the latest budget, despite opposition from the Canadian Medical Association.