The Need for the Naloxone in the Workplace

If the risk assessment showed that there was a possibility that somebody might overdose the Occupational Health and Safety Act of Ontario requires the employer have a Naloxone kit in order to help prevent the person from suffering a fatality. 

Concurrent with this legislation was decisions by the Ontario government to make the Naloxone kits free to individuals from pharmacies, and businesses through the Canadian Red Cross and the St. John's Ambulance systems.

In the year leading up to this law, and since then, many employers have approached us regarding why it would be necessary for them to include it in their first aid kit, and whether there was any liability. This blog will seek to answer the question, and make not only the legal case for how to do the risk assessment, but also will argue morally that the question is Why not?
Naloxone is an antagonist administered to a person has suffered an opioid overdose. It is given nasally, and it counteracts the opioids in the system specifically being effective against fentanyl. A person who is not having an opioid overdose given the Naloxone will suffer no effects, however a person who is in the middle of an opioid dose who has been given the Naloxone is very likely to survive the experience.

Any person giving Naloxone in good faith believing that the person is suffering from an overdose is free of liability under the Good Samaritans Act.

According to Canadian public health records 1 percent of all Canadians suffer either from an opioid addiction, or opioid dependency.  Think about your workplace think of all the people who are in it the workers, supervisors and managers and all the people who interact with them. 

If the number is higher than 100 we need to take action to prevent tragedy from happening in our workplace. This will include the use of a first aid kit in which you will find the Naloxone kit.

With veteran OHS trainers and first aiders, we have seen the power of the Naloxone kit, and how it can be the defining factor in life-or-death situations. It is essential to have your Health and Safety Committee trained on how to use the kit, as being prepared will teach you how to keep cool under pressure, and how to make a plan and act accordingly.

The Training for Naloxone is simple and currently free.  First aiders and individuals can take a course online. Just 20 minutes of their time will educate them on how to deliver and use the drug.

Any workplace where more than 100 people could be expected to interact either as workers or as customers would always have a risk assessment that said they should have a new Naloxone kit.

We believe it's a trap to get caught up with compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act when we talk about things like first aid and Naloxone, what’s more important is being kind to our fellow human beings and being prepared, so that when somebody else suffers a tragedy we can do something about it.