New overdose guidelines coming for B.C. universities [Video]

A steering committee has identified early actions for post-secondary institutions to follow in the event of an overdose on campus.

The Ministry of Post-Secondary Education says early actions it identified include providing clarity on contacting emergency services, expanding awareness of toxic drug alerts and overdose prevention, as well as ensuring consistent access to naloxone.

The ministry says it is developing medical response guidelines, ordering nasal naloxone that will be distributed to the 25 public post-secondary institutions and launching an overdose awareness campaign that will be rolled out during the fall semester.

The review comes after the coroner called an inquest into the fatal overdose in January of a University of Victoria student whose parents say she died after a delay in administering naloxone and starting CPR.