Should naloxone and training for administering it be widely available on university campus and in high schools?

Photo: Contributed

Sidney McIntyre-Starko.

The death of an 18-year-old at the University of Victoria has prompted calls to make naloxone, a medication that reverses an opioid overdose, widely available on university campuses and even in high schools in British Columbia.

Sidney McIntyre-Starko, a first-year general sciences student who died of a suspected fentanyl overdose in her dormitory, was attended to by campus security, but naloxone wasn’t administered until nine minutes after they arrived on the scene, according to 911 records obtained by her family.

In the wake of her death, B.C.’s Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Lisa Beare, met with the province’s 25 public postsecondary institutions, and the group has agreed to roll out measures for overdose prevention in time for the fall semester, including the distribution of naloxone and the implementation of training standards for the medication.

A survey of universities across Canada found a variety of policies on naloxone – specifically, whether residence supervisors, often students themselves, know how to administer it and whether it is widely available.

“A minimum set of standards for universities across the country would be great,” said Isabelle Easton, director of campaigns and community relations at the University of Victoria Students’ Society. “Having consistency across the board would at least allow for some sort of accountability to happen.”

Earlier this month, the school said making nasal naloxone available in residences is a priority for the fall.

Currently, student staff are not required to know how to administer injectable naloxone, though they have access to the training if they choose. Training on the use of nasal naloxone will be offered regularly once the university can secure a stable supply of the drug, the university said in an unattributed statement.

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