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Opioid poisoning response added to Red Cross First Aid/CPR training

The Canadian Red Cross is adding training to identify and respond to opioid poisoning in all its first aid and CPR programs across Canada.
President Conrad Sauvé, says the change is part of a series funded by Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program by increasing Canadians’ access to response training and a life-saving medication that could provide enough time for medical attention.
He adds between January 2016 and December 2020 there were more than 21,000 apparent opioid toxicity deaths in Canada – with 97 per cent happening by accident.
Sauvé notes the crisis has worsened since start of the pandemic with 6,214 deaths recorded in 2020 alone.
The federal funding is providing Red Cross $7.9 million over the next three years.
The agency will work in partnership with St. John Ambulance to deliver opioid poisoning education and response training through multiple online platforms, and in person, as well as develop a system to provide Canadians with ready access to naloxone, a medication that temporarily reverses some of the life-threatening effects of opioid poisoning.
A primary focus is to reach people at risk for opioid poisoning in underserved, remote, rural, or Indigenous communities.
Research suggests the crisis is hitting smaller communities the hardest, adds Sauvé. He says information from the Canadian Institute for Health Information found communities of 50,000 to 99,999 people had rates of opioid-related hospitalizations more than twice that of cities with populations over 500,000.
As part of the project, the University of Toronto is also conducting an assessment to identify communities most at risk of opioid misuse. They will then define needs, pinpoint gaps in their current response and indicate opportunities to intervene.
The launch will take place this fall.
The Red Cross will add self-directed online opioid poisoning response training to its offerings in 2022. The platform will also provide for the ordering of naloxone kits.
Altogether, Red Cross expects to provide training to 1.5 million Canadians over the next three years.
To register for opioid poisoning response training delivered as part of Red Cross first aid and CPR programming, visit myrc.redcross.ca.
Training is provided in accordance with current guidelines of provincial and territorial public health authorities. In-person training options are currently available in certain jurisdictions.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
@RedCrossCanada | facebook.com/CanadianRedCross | redcross.ca/blog
Red Cross donor inquiries: [email protected] or 1-800-418-1111

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