Whereas the growing opioid crisis is taking a toll on the police, fire and ambulance services of BC communities, with adverse effects on morale, recruitment, retention and budgets, that are making it difficult to sustain these services; And whereas the use of uniformed first responders in addressing overdose is often highly traumatizing and ineffective for patients; And whereas therapeutic staff working on the frontline in housing facilities, drop-in centres, and overdose prevention sites are prepared and willing to deliver emergency medical response, but are required to call 9-1-1 for every suspected overdose: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM calls upon the provincial government to work with community partners and regulatory bodies to revise scopes of practice and professional indemnification, such that front line housing staff can be trained in emergency medical response and authorized to use professional discretion as to when to call 9-1-1.
Ministry of Health Most front line housing providers are not regulated by a professional body providing consistent practice standards and they have diverse training backgrounds and resources available to them. There is a potential for harm in providing generalized recommendations for unregulated care providers and therefore, the decision to call 911 needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Employers of staff at non-profit and community-based organizations, such as housing sites, drop-in centres, and non-profit Overdose Prevention Sites OPS are recommended to contact the BC Facility Overdose Response Box FORB which provides naloxone and supplies, as well as support for the preparation of staff to respond to an overdose in the workplace and support following the response to an overdose. Employers are prompted by FORB to implement overdose response protocols and staff training. - Eligibilityapplication: https:towardtheheart.comforb - Existing site resources including trainingprotocol templates: www.towardtheheart.comforb-sites - Infographic: https:towardtheheart.comforb-infograph - Article: The implementation and role of a staff naloxone program for non-profit community-based sites in British Columbia: a descriptive study There has been a Province-wide practice update for emergency 911 call takers from BC Emergency Health Services BCEHS for hands only chest compressions for peer workers. - If a caller identifies themselves as a trained peer worker and confirms the person has a pulse, the call taker will give instructions to maintain airway and give breaths when needed, but will not advise compressions -Infographic: https:towardtheheart.comresourcecalling-911-bcehs-scriptopen Links: Article: The implementation and role of a staff naloxone program for non-profit community-based sites in British Columbia: a descriptive study https:journals.plos.orgplosonearticle?id10.1371journal.pone.0251112