UVic’s overdose policies didn’t ‘meet the moment’ before student’s death: report

There were several points at which a University of Victoria student could have been saved before she died of a drug overdose last year, but instead a report says she didn’t get the naloxone or respiratory support needed to survive.

The report by former Abbotsford police chief Bob Rich looks into the January 2024 overdose death of 18-year-old Sidney McIntyre-Starko, who used street drugs laced with fentanyl with two other students in a university residence.

A timeline in the report says the teen collapsed and had a seizure but didn’t get the help she needed for 15 minutes, partly because a student she was with insisted they hadn’t taken drugs, and the university’s security guards didn’t check for an overdose.

The report says the university thought safeguards were in place, given that security had naloxone and had been trained to use it, students were given harm-reduction supplies, and processes were set for critical incidents, but what happened that day shows the processes “did not meet the moment.”

University president Kevin Hall says they accept the report’s 18 recommendations, including mental health support for staff and students, having a staff member who can apply basic first aid in residences, and bringing in an amnesty policy for those calling for help from getting in trouble.

After reviewing the timeline put forward by McIntyre-Starko’s parents in June last year, Hall said there were errors on the night of the 18-year-old’s death.

“Were there mistakes made? Absolutely. But what I just want to assure everybody is the people who respond to these events never go into this saying, ‘I’m going to do my my worst.’ They always go in trying to do their best,” said Hall.

A BC Coroners inquest has also been called into the teen’s death, and the BC Post-Secondary Overdose Prevention and Response Steering Committee has launched a review of its policies to find gaps and recommend best practices in overdose prevention at public post-secondary institutions.

In February, the university said it welcomes the inquest.