Interior Health, Coroners Service unable to confirm recent social media reports of overdose fatalities

Neither Interior Health or the BC Coroners Service is able to confirm if five recent fatalities in Revelstoke are the result of drug overdose. A Feb. 10 social media post on the Facebook group Revelstoke Community raised concerns over the possibility of up to five overdose-related deaths at the beginning of February.

In a previous story Interior Health spokesperson Karl Hardt said IH had not received any reports related to overdose cases at Queen Victoria Hospital. Overdose deaths outside of IH facilities are reported through the BC Coroners Office.  Andy Watson, communications manager for the BC Coroners Service said he has not seen that many suspected drug-overdose deaths.

“We don’t confirm the number of deaths under five due in a township [due] to privacy reasons,” said Watson.

Watson said if the BC Coroners Service saw a concerning trend they would work directly with the health authority to provide some public safety messaging. Watson said there’s no set criteria for issuing an alert other than the fact that it would be collaboration with IH.

Naloxone kits now available at Revelstoke pharmacies

Both Revelstoke Family Pharmacy and Pharmasave now have Naloxone kits available for public distribution. Stephen Hui, owner and pharmacist at Pharmasave, said while the kits are available there is still a need for staff to be trained on how to teach members of the public how to use the kits. He said he suspects the training will take place online.

“It’s going through the protocol on how to train someone else,” said Hui.

David Lafreniere, owner and pharmacist at Revelstoke Family Pharmacy said the kits are fairly straight forward to use, but the retractable needle means if a mistake is made the needle will retract and the kit will become unusable. Hui also noted the kits are not pre-loaded, meaning the Naloxone capsules need to be drawn into the needle’s syringe prior to being used. It’s for this reason Hui said he strongly advises training on how to use the kit properly.

Hui said he has had a number of inquiries from workplaces wanting to carry Naloxone kits.

Naloxone kits are also available at Selkirk Medical Clinic, Revelstoke Mental Health, and Revelstoke Public Health.

The Toward the Heart website provides information on the use of Naloxone kits, including a training video which can be viewed below.