Perth County Paramedic Services is expanding the distribution of Naloxone Kits in the region.
A new agreement with Huron Perth Public Health now expands access by allowing all frontline Perth County Paramedics to distribute the kits to people at risk.
Perth County Paramedic Chief Mike Adair says paramedics have always been able to administer Naloxone as a treatment to temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, and the County’s Community Paramedics have also had access to the kits for use and distribution.
“We are going to have some Naloxone kits in all of our ambulances and in our paramedic stations that are available for paramedics to distribute to the public in the same way that they can walk into a pharmacy and at no cost obtain a Naloxone kit," said Adair.
Adair says this just makes it easier for people in Perth County, Stratford and St. Marys to access the kits. He says it's not a 911 type of situation where the paramedics would just show up in the event of an emergency and distribute the kits. He says the paramedics would respond the way they always do to an emergency and get that person to the hospital.
“The intention isn't that we're going to be leaving individuals on scene and handing out kits. The intention is that we do make it accessible so when we come across a situation where someone might require a kit that we be able to distribute it to them at that time. Or it might be community paramedics in the community handing them out at a clinic," Adair shared.
Adair says this just makes it easier for the paramedics to distribute the kits to the people who might need them. He adds it won't require any special training for the paramedics, because they've been carrying Naloxone kits in their ambulances for some time now, but this does make it easier for them to hand out the kits to people who require them.
