Latest news with #SidneyMcIntyre-Starko
Vancouver Sun
15-05-2025
- Health
- Vancouver Sun
Inquest jury recommends changes to B.C. ambulance, education systems
A coroner's inquest jury has recommended major changes to public systems that will affect all British Columbians, in response to the preventable death of a University of Victoria student. The jury forewoman paused several times Thursday, becoming emotional while speaking about the details of this case in which three 18-year-olds were poisoned by toxic drugs. When Sidney McIntyre-Starko, 18, and another student were poisoned by fentanyl in a UVic dorm in January 2024, their friends phoned campus security and 911 for help immediately. But Sidney died of oxygen deprivation after not receiving the overdose-reversing drug naloxone for 13 minutes, or CPR for 15 minutes. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The 10 sweeping recommendations include: Ministry of Education : Secondary schools should provide instruction on how to perform CPR, administer nasal naloxone, and use automated external defibrillators (AED) devices on someone whose heart has stopped beathing; create a presentation for students that highlights the effects and risks of taking drugs; and make it available on a website for parents and others to access. The jury forewoman said this was based on school boards in other provinces doing this training, and that it's important to reach young people because toxic drugs are now the leading cause of death for British Columbians aged 10 to 59. Post-secondary Ministry, Ministry of Education : Create in-person presentations on the drug crisis for secondary and post-secondary students, using real stories from survivors and family members to make the most impact on young people. University of Victoria : Create a mandatory online orientation to be completed by the end of the student's first year, to include: how to contact 911 and campus security, how to access naloxone and administer it, how to use AEDs, how to find drug-testing locations and that using them comes with no repercussions, and general information on the drug crisis. And include this online information in campus security training. This was suggested because one security officer testified he didn't believe medical evidence that naloxone is benign and will not cause harm to a patient even if they are not overdosing. Post-secondary Ministry, B.C. Emergency Health Services : Consult with post-secondary schools and municipalities to ensure there are unique addresses for each building in multi-building complexes, and that the addresses are clearly posted on the buildings, are included in official maps used by first responders, and those maps are updated annually. Install a building map on the back of each campus residence door and in common areas that includes the address and the nearest 'muster point' where campus security will meet first-responders. Post-Secondary Ministry: Campus security at all universities and colleges should be provided with devices to supply oxygen, finger monitors that can detect a pulse, naloxone, AEDs, and at least the second level of occupational first aid training. The jury forewoman noted there were 'multiple debates' by security officers about whether Sidney was breathing. Having those devices would provide a more reliable answer than the 'breathing diagnostic tool' the 911 call-taker was directing the officers to do based on directions from her computer system. Post-secondary Ministry : Provide campus security staff with scheduled work time to review training every semester, require officers to complete a report after a serious incident and undergo a debriefing with managers. Install security cameras in high-traffic, public areas such as the bus loop to help verify details of serious incidents. If students are administered naloxone but decline to go to the hospital, which happened with two of the students in this case, campus security should check on them every 30 minutes for the next 1 ½ hours — the length of time it takes for naloxone to wear off. The jury forewoman also recommended that family members are notified within one hour of a serious medical emergency, noting Sidney's parents did not hear from anyone at UVic that evening which robbed them of valuable time with their daughter before she died. B.C. Emergency Health Services : Review policies on obtaining patient identification, because the paramedic did not have Sidney's name when she was admitted to hospital. By the end of 2025, update the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system used by dispatchers, which is about 17 years old and there are newer versions available. And update its website so it can live up to its promise to make data — such as call response times — publicly available. The ambulance service is also to incorporate an internal timer to monitor how long call-takers spend trying to find an address, which will alert their supervisors if too much time passes. Priority dispatch , the creators of the computer system used by ambulance call-takers: Update the system so that when a call involves multiple unconscious patients, a high-priority ambulance should be dispatched immediately and the call-taker should ask followup questions about possible drug use. During the three-week inquest, the jury heard it took the call-taker seven minutes to dispatch an ambulance, partly because she spent 3 ½ minutes trying to find a specific location for the 58-year-old UVic dorm, which didn't have its own unique address and didn't show up in the provincial mapping system used by 911. The emergency response was also delayed because the student who called 911 didn't explain she and her two friends had taken drugs, and described the two patients as turning blue and 'seizing'. That caused the call-taker to enter the seizure protocol on her 911 computer system, which provides a less urgent response than the overdose protocol. Two UVic campus security officers, who have first aid training, were on scene but appeared to rely on the 911 call-taker's instructions so didn't start CPR or administer naloxone immediately. On Wednesday, before the jury issued their recommendations, Premier David Eby was asked why this case was examined in a coroner's inquest, when more than 2,000 people were fatally poisoned by toxic drugs in 2024. He said the inquest was called after he met with Sidney's mother, who was frustrated by UVic not answering her questions and by the recording of the 911 call, which she played for him. 'I know that UVic has made a number of changes and (has) done their own internal investigation, but there are issues that have come up in terms of the EMS (Emergency Health Services) response during the coroner's inquest that I'm sure we'll see being considered by the coroner's jury,' Eby said. 'We'll receive recommendations from the coroner's jury, and we'll ensure that they're implemented. It was an important issue in relation to how post-secondary schools deal with this issue of students who may think they're just having a good time with friends and then suddenly end up an overdose situation, and how we can minimize harm in that very specific environment.' The jury heard testimony from 34 witnesses over 11 days. Sidney's parents launched a media campaign to push for change after her death. With files from Alec Lazenby, Postmedia lculbert@ • Day 1: UVic student's mother takes stand on Day 1 of her coroner's inquest • Day 2: UVic student contradicts campus security evidence at coroner's inquest • Day 3: UVic security officer defends actions on day of student overdose death • Day 4: We 'did the best we could': Second UVic security guard testifies about evening student died • Day 5: 911 operator relied on what witness described as seizures of UVic students, coroner's inquest hears • Day 6: Paramedic suspected fatal UVic call was more serious than 911 report • Day 7: Drugs found by UVic students like something out of 'a Scarface movie,' police tell coroner's inquest • Day 8: U.S. doctor tells inquest B.C. 911 operators don't use best approach to cardiac-arrest calls • Day 9: After death of UVic student, changes aim to trim delays in getting paramedics to patients • Day 10: B.C.'s 911 system needs major changes, emergency care expert says • Day 11: U.S. firm that made B.C. Ambulance's 911 dispatch system told how to fix it • Day 12: B.C. coroner's jury deliberating changes to ambulance, education systems
Global News
15-05-2025
- Global News
Jury recommends education, training following UVic student's overdose death
The jury has made a number of recommendations following an inquest into the death of an 18-year-old university student in January 2024. Sidney McIntyre-Starko was 18 years old when she died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in her dorm room at the University of Victoria. She and her friends had snorted a substance they'd found at the bottom of a box of coolers. The inquest into her death was called after her parents went public with concerns over the response of UVic campus security and the length of time it took to give her naloxone and CPR. 2:38 Inquest into accidental overdose death of UVic student about to go to jury The jury made recommendations about education, training and protocols around emergencies and the toxic drug crisis. Story continues below advertisement It wants Minister of Education and Child Care Lisa Beare to implement a program in high schools training students on how to administer CPR, how to use automated external defibrillators (AED), how to use and administer nasal naloxone and develop a presentation on identifying drugs and their risks. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy To Anne Kang, the minister of post-secondary education and future skills, the jury recommends creating a program involving an in-person presentation about the drug crisis using real stories from survivors and / or family members of loved ones lost to the drug crisis. They recommend the ministry consult with post-secondary institutions and municipalities to implement unique addresses for campuses so that buildings can be found easier and to avoid confusion around where emergency services need to go. They recommend a map of the campus on the back of each student's door with buildings clearly marked and for post-secondary institutions to allow time for campus security training each year to cover protocols and procedures in the case of emergency. The jury also recommends that post-secondary institutions install CCTV cameras in public areas, such as bus loops, so that footage can be obtained at a later date, if necessary. 2:34 Coroner's inquest into UVic student's death hears testimony from 911 operator To the University of Victoria, the jury recommends that all students attend a mandatory in-person or online presentation about how to contact 911 and campus security; how to obtain and administer naloxone; how to find and use an AED device; general info on the drug crisis and a summary for future reference; how to find safe drug supply testing sites, and the implementation of the course for the campus security officer training program. Story continues below advertisement In an inquest, a jury will have the opportunity to make recommendations although a jury must not make any finding of legal responsibility or express any conclusion of law. More to come.
Vancouver Sun
15-05-2025
- Health
- Vancouver Sun
Inquest jury recommends changes to B.C. ambulance, health systems
A coroner's inquest jury has recommended major changes to public systems that will affect all British Columbians, in response to the preventable death of a University of Victoria student. The jury forewoman paused several times while reading the recommendations Thursday, becoming emotional while speaking about the details of this case in which three 18-year-olds were poisoned by toxic drugs — forever impacting their lives and the many students who witnessed the tragedy. The nine recommendations include: Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Ministry of Education: Secondary schools should provide instruction on how to perform CPR, use AED devices, and administer nasal naloxone, and to be provided knowledge on drugs of high risk. Post-Secondary Ministry: Create a program involving in-person sessions on drug crisis, using real stories from survivors and family members to make the most impact on students. University of Victoria: Mandatory student orientation to include how to contact 911 and campus security, how to get naloxone and how to administer it, demonstrations on AEDs, how to find safe drug testing locations, and clarification that they would face no repercussions when reporting drug use. University of Victoria: Ensure campus security receive the same information provided to students, particularly about the fact that naloxone is benign and will not cause harm to give it to someone — even if they are not overdosing. Post-Secondary Ministry, B.C. Emergency Health Services: Install unique addresses for each building in multi-building complexes, so they are easy to find in an emergency. Post-Secondary Ministry: Ensure campus security officers are given time to review first aid skills, and that major emergency events are properly reported and examined. B.C. Emergency Health Services: Make changes so that 911 call-takers can more easily find the address of emergency calls. When Sidney McIntyre-Starko, 18, and another student were poisoned by fentanyl in a UVic dorm in January 2024, their friends phoned campus security and 911 for help immediately. But Sidney died of oxygen deprivation after not receiving the overdose-reversing drug naloxone for 13 minutes or CPR for 15 minutes. The jury heard it took the 911 call-taker seven minutes to dispatch an ambulance, partly because she spent 3 1/2 minutes trying to find the address for the 58-year-old UVic dorm where the overdoses happened. The emergency response was also delayed because the student who called 911 didn't explain she and her friends had taken drugs, and described the two patients as turning blue and 'seizing'. That caused the call-taker to enter the seizure protocol on her 911 computer system, which provides a less urgent response than the overdose protocol. Two UVic campus security officers, who have first aid training, were on scene but appeared to rely on the 911 call-taker's instructions so didn't start CPR or administer naloxone immediately. On Wednesday, before the jury issued their recommendations, Premier David Eby was asked why this case was examined in a coroner's inquest, when more than 2,000 people were fatally poisoned by toxic drugs in 2024. He said the inquest was called after he met with Sidney's mother, who was frustrated by UVic not answering her questions and by the recording of the 911 call, which she played for him. 'I know that UVic has made a number of changes and (has) done their own internal investigation, but there are issues that have come up in terms of the EMS (Emergency Health Services) response during the coroner's inquest that I'm sure we'll see being considered by the coroner's jury,' Eby said. 'We'll receive recommendations from the coroner's jury, and we'll ensure that they're implemented. It was an important issue in relation to how post-secondary schools deal with this issue of students who may think they're just having a good time with friends and then suddenly end up an overdose situation, and how we can minimize harm in that very specific environment.' The jury heard testimony from 34 witnesses over 11 days. Sidney's parents launched a media campaign to push for change after her death. More to come … With files from Alec Lazenby, Postmedia lculbert@ • Day 1: UVic student's mother takes stand on Day 1 of her coroner's inquest • Day 2: UVic student contradicts campus security evidence at coroner's inquest • Day 3: UVic security officer defends actions on day of student overdose death • Day 4: We 'did the best we could': Second UVic security guard testifies about evening student died • Day 5: 911 operator relied on what witness described as seizures of UVic students, coroner's inquest hears • Day 6: Paramedic suspected fatal UVic call was more serious than 911 report • Day 7: Drugs found by UVic students like something out of 'a Scarface movie,' police tell coroner's inquest • Day 8: U.S. doctor tells inquest B.C. 911 operators don't use best approach to cardiac-arrest calls • Day 9: After death of UVic student, changes aim to trim delays in getting paramedics to patients • Day 10: B.C.'s 911 system needs major changes, emergency care expert says • Day 11: U.S. firm that made B.C. Ambulance's 911 dispatch system told how to fix it • Day 12: B.C. coroner's jury deliberating changes to ambulance, education systems
The Province
13-05-2025
- Health
- The Province
U.S. firm that made B.C. Ambulance's 911 dispatch system told how to fix it
A coroner's inquest is examining the preventable overdose death of University of Victoria student Sidney McIntyre-Starko, 18, in January 2024 Sidney McIntyre-Starko was an avid dancer. Photo courtesy Sidney's family An American doctor who created the computer software used by ambulance dispatchers in B.C. was peppered with questions about how to improve the widely used system, during a coroner's inquest on Monday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The five-person jury, which is in its third week of hearing evidence about the 2024 fentanyl-poisoning death of a University of Victoria student, made several suggestions for change to Dr. Jeff Clawson. He is the founder of the Priority Dispatch system, which is used in most ambulance 911 calls in Canada, including all in B.C. Why, one juror asked, didn't the call-taker follow up on her suspicions and just directly ask the student who phoned 911 if the two unconscious patients had taken drugs, rather than follow the system's rigid rules about not asking leading questions? 'We're definitely looking at it. It makes sense if it can be done right,' Clawson said. Sidney McIntyre-Starko, 18, and a friend collapsed in a UVic dorm, but the student who phoned 911 didn't reveal the three of them had taken drugs. She described her friends as turning blue and 'seizing,' which led the call-taker into the seizure protocol on her computer system — and therefore delayed the urgent life-saving response required to reverse an overdose. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The inquest has heard the call-taker suspected the students could have overdosed, but was prohibited by the Priority Dispatch system from asking that specific question. Instead, Clawson testified, the call-taker asked several clarifying questions to try to get to the root of what happened. But the juror noted they all sounded the same — What happened before this? Was anyone else with them? What's going on now? — and didn't result in new information being provided in an urgent way. 'Instead of asking all of those multiple times, one of those (questions) could have been: 'Were there drugs involved?'' the juror put to Clawson. When the seizure protocol was chosen for this case, a box popped up warning the call-taker it was an unusual medical complaint for two patients. That required her to confirm she wasn't mistaken about this choice. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Wouldn't that be a good place to ask the call-taker to make more follow-up questions, a juror asked. Clawson said that change is under discussion, but said none of the 3,000 centres worldwide that pay to use his software has submitted this exact proposal for change. 'Maybe you can be the one that does,' Clawson told the juror. 'That (proposal) does make some sense, and that's actually on my list of things here that we want to look at based on learning from every event as much as possible.' Call-takers are typically not medically trained, so rely on the Priority Dispatch system to guide them through 911 calls by entering information provided by witnesses and then getting next-step questions and medical advice from the algorithm. A juror asked Clawson what potential changes could be made to the system in light of Sidney's preventable death. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He said possible changes that have been mentioned include improving the breathing tool that call-takers rely on to get witnesses to test whether a patient is breathing. The inquest has heard that witnesses are unable to complete this test in nearly a third of cases. In Sidney's case, it took three people — including two security guards with first aid training — before it was completed, a full five minutes after the call-taker first asked for someone to do it. Other areas Clawson said could be changed include how to better identify when someone is having a seizure, and how to better handle calls with more than one patient. In Sidney's case, it was never clear on the 911 call which patient the witnesses were talking about when they reported medical information, so the call-taker did not realize that one student was still 'seizing' while Sidney was largely lying motionless. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The seizure protocol guided the call-taker to ask a series of questions that seemed bizarre when there were two patients: Are they both pregnant or do they both have brain tumours? One juror asked if the software could be changed so that in a multiple patient situation, the questions would make more sense, such as probing about a poisoning, noxious gas or overdose? One of the students survived but Sidney died of oxygen deprivation. She did not receive naloxone for 13 minutes or CPR for 15 minutes after her friends phoned 911. Anthony Vecchio, the lawyer for Sidney's family, took Clawson through a report on Sidney's death written by an arm's length company that approves changes to the Priority Dispatch software. The report recommended some internal improvements, which included 'loosening' dispatch requirements for a confirmed overdose to just a suspected one, to speed up getting treatment to patients. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Clawson said that recommendation will be reviewed, but noted it 'is not an easy one to do.' He also argued Sidney's 911 call-taker 'went above and beyond the call of duty' trying to find out whether the students took drugs. Since naloxone is benign and cannot hurt anyone, Vecchio asked, why not just allow call-takers who suspect an overdose to advise bystanders to administer it right away. Clawson responded that not all call-takers will have overdose suspicions, so they are reliant on witnesses to tell them what happened. 'I wish we were clairvoyant and we could do that,' he said. Sidney's call-taker spent 3½ minutes in a provincial database trying to find an address for the 58-year-old UVic dorm, before going to the Priority Dispatch system to start asking the witness why she was calling. Clawson said his system could not provide a prompt for call-takers to move with more urgency after address delays, because there is no way for it to know how long has been spent in the B.C. database — or in the hundreds of separate databases used by its other clients. 'I'll be dead and buried by the time that happens. That's just not going to happen in the real world,' he said. 'If I could be magical, I would make it happen.' lculbert@ For more health news and content around diseases, conditions, wellness, healthy living, drugs, treatments and more, head to – a member of the Postmedia Network.
Global News
13-05-2025
- Health
- Global News
911 call on night UVic student overdosed was ‘the most complex,' doctor testifies
The coroner's inquest into the drug death of a University of Victoria student has gone to the jury after hearing more testimony about a controversial 911 call. Sidney McIntyre-Starko was 18 years old when she died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in her dorm room in January 2024. She and her friends had snorted a substance they'd found at the bottom of a box of coolers. The inquest into her death was called after her parents went public with concerns over the response of UVic campus security and the length of time it took to give her naloxone and CPR. 2:32 Emergency dispatch system under scrutiny at coroner's inquest into death of UVic student One of the key questions in this inquest was if unnecessary delays with the call taker and the software used by B.C. Emergency Health Services contributed to McIntyre Starko's death. Story continues below advertisement The founder of the software, Medical Priority Dispatch, Dr. Jeff Clawson, says in his 40 years of doing this work. this 911 call is among the most complex he has ever encountered. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The lawyers representing the McIntyre-Starko family have been challenging that narrative, pointing to critical parts of the 911 call that could have led the call taker down a different path, leading to much earlier use of CPR. When McIntyre-Starko's friend first called 911 she said her friends were having seizures, the computer system immediately flagged two people with seizures as an 'unusual chief complaint.' However, the inquest heard that the 911 call taker didn't deviate from her mandatory questions about the seizures. 911: 'OK, so what's going on? What do you see?' Story continues below advertisement Student 2: 'Um, they're both just lying on their sides right now. Just on the ground and –' 911: 'Are they pregnant or have they been pregnant in the past four weeks?' Student 2: 'No, no, no they haven't.' 911: 'Are they diabetic?' Student 2: 'Not that I'm aware of, no.' 911: 'Are they an epileptic?' Student 2: 'No.' Testimony in the inquest has now concluded and the jury has begun its deliberations.
