How Alberta''s fentanyl crisis is changing the role of correctional peace officers
By Mariam Ibrahim, Communications Staff
A voice crackles over the radio: there''s been a medical emergency - a suspected fentanyl overdose - and the emergency response unit springs into action.
The correctional officers don their black safety vests and respiratory masks, and a supervisor quickly grabs a Naloxone kit as the team rushes to the inmate.
Within two minutes the life-saving antidote has been administered. Within a few more the inmate will be taken for medical treatment. A potential tragedy, averted, thanks to the quick action of front-line staff.
Alberta''s correctional peace officers are being thrust into the role of first responders during an overdose emergency as the ripples of the fentanyl crisis spread further through the province.
It''s just one way the role of correctional peace officers has changed in recent years, as staff within these centres begin to adapt to a challenge that shows no sign of letting up.
The need for increased safety and mitigation measures is obvious. Just this past April, two people incarcerated at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre died in as many weeks, both of suspected overdoses. And for every inmate that falls victim to these dangerous drugs, at least one is brought back from a potential overdose by quick-acting correctional peace officers and nursing staff who work in Alberta''s correctional centres.
"The job of a correctional peace officer isn''t easy. Our members know it comes with inherent risks, but the threats posed by the potential for fentanyl exposure have been a major challenge for everyone in these facilities - both the inmates and the staff," said AUPE Vice-President Susan Slade. "The nature of these threats is changing, too. Before, it was about threats you could see. With the introduction of fentanyl, our members are often dealing with a threat they can''t see.
"When an overdose emergency happens, they immediately respond with Naloxone, the fentanyl antidote, and have been credited with saving the lives of so many."
While the fentanyl crisis has hit hard across the country, it has been especially acute in Alberta and British Columbia, where the majority of deaths have happened in the past two years. Ottawa has taken small steps to help with an infusion of cash, providing $10 million to B.C. and $6 million to Alberta.
Despite the prevention and treatment efforts that have been made so far, fentanyl continues to spread and the death toll is rising. In 2011, Alberta recorded just six fentanyl-related deaths. Fast forward just five years to 2016 and that figure had skyrocketed to 358. It jumped again, to 589, in 2017. And in the first three months of this year, 158 people died of suspected fentanyl overdoses, a figure that is expected to steadily rise.
With the spread of the crisis comes an increased risk of exposure for those who are tasked with responding to overdoses or administering the drug in a health setting. In fact, Alberta Health Services acknowledged in a report released last year that there are occupational health and safety risks for workers "who may encounter fentanyl or traces of opioids as part of their employment."
The Alberta government has acknowledged that drugs are getting into correctional facilities, and that their presence poses a unique danger both to the inmates and the staff working in those facilities.
"The threat of fentanyl within correctional facilities is a major worry among our members who work in correctional facilities, and that concern continues to grow," said AUPE Vice-President Rod Feland. "When our members take on the role of lifesavers, they put themselves in harm''s way too. There is the risk of coming into contact with trace amounts of fentanyl, and many members are growing more and more worried about accidentally exposing their families or their pets when they go home from work. That''s just one side effect of this new challenge."
Correctional peace officers at facilities across the province have seen some occupational health and safety enhancements. Alberta''s OHS code requires employers to not only provide personal protective equipment (PPE), but also ensure it is being worn and used properly.
In response to the fentanyl crisis and its impact on provincial correctional centres, the government has issued new PPE guidelines for correctional peace officers. The equipment is kept in an easily accessible area in each unit so that correctional officers can don it quickly if they''re called to respond to a suspected fentanyl overdose.
According to provincial data, corrections facilities administered 1,074 Naloxone kits in response to overdoses between Jan. 1, 2016 and Dec. 31, 2017. Currently, 10 Alberta corrections facilities are registered to distribute or administer Naloxone kits.
In May, the provincial government extended the work of its opioid response commission for an additional year, until November 2019.
Last year, the government introduced a pilot project that brought a body scanner to the Edmonton Remand Centre, something members of AUPE Local 003 had long advocated for. The province is "hoping to be able to expand that pilot project," Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley recently said in the legislature, noting that the introduction of the body scanner in Edmonton had led to "fantastic results."
Local 003 members around the province want to see that project expanded to their own facilities, which would allow correctional peace officers to better detect drugs before they get into the centres and potentially create a volatile situation.
However, despite the positive results of the pilot project, the province had not made a final decision on its potential expansion as of press time.
AUPE will continue to lobby the government to extend Naloxone kit access and training to all front-line workers within correctional centres. Currently, only nurses and supervisors have access to the kits.