Northern Ont. EMS testing new opioid drug treatment program

“You overdosed and you were given narcan.”

That’s what Cochrane District EMS operations commander Derrick Cremin told a homeless man, after he had been revived from an opioid overdose.

Paramedics found the man unresponsive outside a local church last week, later learning that he uses fentanyl.

Cremin then went through a checklist of withdrawal symptoms to determine whether the man was eligible for an opioid drug therapy that could save his life.

“We can give you something called Suboxone,” Cremin told the patient.

He then gave him two film tabs of buprenorphine-naloxone, known by the brand name Suboxone.

Without it, the patient may not have survived the week, according to Seamus Murphy, deputy chief of standards and community services.

‘We want to keep people safe’

While lifesaving treatments like naloxone can revive someone from an overdose, Murphy said it also brings on severe withdrawal.

Patients then turn straight to opioids for relief. The condition causes a need to consume more or risk death from withdrawal — as long as the opioid doesn’t kill the user first.

Suboxone can quell those urges by delivering enough opioids to satiate the craving without causing euphoria, along with offering about 24 hours of protection from another overdose.

“We want to keep people safe and that’s what this does,” said Murphy.

“It’s an opioid agonist therapy that treats people that suffer with opiate use.”

Cochrane District EMS are offering overdose patients a new way to recover from opioid overdoses that increases their chances of overcoming addiction. (Sergio Arangio/CTV News)

Patients then have a clearer mind to make a better choice, he said, ideally choosing to enter into addiction treatment.

First to administer it in Canada

Suboxone is classified as a narcotic and Cochrane District is the first paramedic service in Canada to carry it and administer it in the field.

Only a select few staff are currently allowed to handle it —Cremin is one of them — but all of the service’s paramedics are trained on its use.

Ontario’s Ministry of Health gave the service the green light earlier this month to test the treatment method, with the goal of revolutionizing how EMS respond to overdoses.

Cochrane District EMS are offering overdose patients a new way to recover from opioid overdoses that increases their chances of overcoming addiction. (Sergio Arangio/CTV News)Cremin said it’s a reassuring tool to have.

“Before, we would treat these patients, offer them (naloxone) … and they would refuse treatment or transport to the hospital,” he said.

“We really didn’t know what happened to them after the overdose. Now, we know that they’re being transported and they’re going to withdrawal management and, hopefully, seeking the help.”

Having administered Suboxone to at least eight patients, with several agreeing to further treatment at the Timmins and District Hospital’s addiction services department, the hospital’s addictions and mental health program manager, Pat Nowak, said he sees major potential.

Cochrane District EMS are offering overdose patients a new way to recover from opioid overdoses that increases their chances of overcoming addiction. (Sergio Arangio/CTV News)

Chance to turn a life around

It’s a welcome addition in battling the opioid crisis, he said, as staff struggle to curb opioid fatalities in a city that still holds some of the highest numbers in Ontario.

“EMS might be one of the people that come into contact with people who use substances the most,” Nowak said.

“I think providing that extra avenue to get into treatment, into recovery, is a great idea.”

Suboxone may not be a miracle drug that can single-handedly end the opioid crisis, but Nowak said it can certainly offer a gateway to sobriety and a better life for opioid users who truly want to change their lives.

“Someone overdoses and they’re saying, ‘that’s it, no more’ this is the chance to say, ‘it’s right here, right now,’” he said.

Murphy said he has been presenting his research on Suboxone to paramedic services across the country and that at least 10 are interested in adopting the program.

First, his goal is for every ambulance in his service — and then in the province — to be able to carry the drug and for every paramedic to be able to administer it.

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Murphy said it’s an essential tool every paramedic should be able to offer to an overdose victim, as they may not get another chance.

“A life we save today could be a life changed tomorrow and that’s what people have to realize.”