Overdose Emergency Response

Signs of opioid drug poisoning are:

• Unconscious (not moving/unresponsive)
• Slow or not breathing (less than 1 breath every 5 seconds)
• Snoring or gurgling sounds
• Tiny pupils
• Lips and nails turning blue or grey
• Skin feels cold and clammy to the touch

After calling 9-1-1, please call campus security at 604-451-6856 if you’re on a BCIT campus. Campus security officers are equipped with and trained to administer naloxone, an overdose reversal drug.

The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act [PDF] protects those responding to an emergency, even if you have substances on you.

Follow SAVE-ME steps:

Watch a video version.

• Stimulate: Try to wake the person. If unresponsive, call 911.
• Airway: A naloxone kit comes with gloves for you to put on. Check if they are breathing normally and check for a pulse (heartbeat). Tilt their head back gently and open their mouth.
• Ventilate: Pinch their nose closed, give 1 breath every 5 seconds. You can use a breathing mask if you have one.
• Evaluate: Are they breathing normally (1 breath every 5 seconds)? If not, get ready to use naloxone.
• Medication: Prepare a 1 mL (one millilitre) dose of naloxone. Your kit may include a nasal spray or an injectable liquid—follow the steps to administer it.
• Evaluate Again: If they are still not breathing normally (1 breath every 5 seconds), give the person breaths and prepare to give another dose after 2 minutes. Put the person on their side and stay with them until emergency services arrive. Naloxone wears off between 30 and 120 minutes and the overdose can return.

Learn more at RespondToOverdose.gov.bc.ca.

Access to Naloxone at BCIT:

Naloxone is a medication that reverses opioid drug poisoning from fentanyl and other opioids.

Two types of naloxone are available at BCIT: nasal and intramuscular.

Nasal naloxone

Nasal naloxone, or Narcan, is administered via the nostril, and is available across BCIT campuses in:

• All First Aid Kits and in designated naloxone cabinets [PDF] located next to Automated External Defibrillator (AED) stations across BCIT campuses.
  • BCIT Burnaby campus map of nasal naloxone
  • Student Housing: Naloxone cabinets are located in either living rooms or common areas within all BCIT Student Housing, including both the Townhouses and Tall Timber.
• Each kit contains 2 doses of naloxone.
• Learn how to use nasal naloxone.

Campus Security and First Aid personnel are trained and equipped to administer naloxone. In some cases, they may administer intramuscular naloxone, which is given via needle into the muscle.

Intramuscular naloxone: Take home naloxone kits

• Free take-home Naloxone kits (intramuscular injection) are available to the BCIT community during operating hours at the following locations.
  • All campuses: Campus Security front desks
  • Burnaby campus: Recreation Services front desk (SE16); Student Health Services lobby (SE16, Room 127)
• For more immediate access, naloxone kits can be picked up from any BC pharmacy.
• All kits contain 3 doses of naloxone.
• To ensure you’re prepared for an overdose emergency, we encourage all BCIT students, staff and faculty to complete an online Naloxone training (1 hour).
• Faculty and staff groups can request a naloxone training workshop where everyone is trained and can take home free a naloxone kit.