Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Prince George bylaw, outreach staff to carry Naloxone kits downtown

Downtown bylaw officers and outreach coordinators will begin carrying the kits to treat drug overdoses this fall.
Naloxone kit
A Naloxone kit is seen in a file photo.

City of Prince George bylaw officers and outreach coordinators dedicated to operating downtown will begin carrying Naloxone kits as part of a pilot project this fall, according to a report going before city council on Monday.

The kits are used to treat opioid overdoses, but bylaw officers and outreach coordinators won’t be replacing the work done by paramedics and fire fighters, city director of public safety Adam Davey wrote.

“These staff are not primary health care or emergency service workers. The purpose is to provide a potential ‘lifesaving bridge’ between the initial 911 call and when the ambulance or fire rescue arrive,” city director of public safety Adam Davey wrote in the report. “The pilot project is intended for a one-year trial period, where the city’s eight dedicated downtown bylaw officers and two outreach coordinators will be trained in administering naloxone and then may use it under extenuating circumstances.”

The trial period is anticipated to begin later this fall, and run through next summer. After which, city administration will review the cost and benefits of the project to determine if it should continue, Davey wrote.

“The city has examined Naloxone carrying and administration for select staff. It appears numerous peer municipalities across the province have bylaw or social outreach staff carrying and administering Naloxone already, or are considering to do so,” he wrote. “A ‘best practice’ does not currently exist, but the trend line appears to be that a majority of peer municipalities are moving toward this.”

The pilot project has the support of the staff involved, Davey added, and participation is voluntary.

“There are incremental costs associated with the purchase of Naloxone that may be incorporated into future base budgets should the pilot project be continued,” Davey wrote.