The jury in the investigation of the British Columbia Forensa on the death of a student of the University of Victoria has recommended a series of measures for the government, schools and the emergency dispatch system of BC.
The key between the recommendations of the jury of five people published on Thursday morning was to increase education around the safe use of drugs, make sure the campus buildings were clearly addressed and supplied with emergency equipment, and updating protocols for campus safety and the BC 911 Takes ambulance.
Sidney McIntyre-Starko, 18, died in January 2024 after Inhale Fentanilo in his UVIC Student Residence with two bedroom experts.
The Forensic investigation into his death, which began on May 5, heard that despite the fact that two of the three students were unconscious and turned blue, the security officers of the campus with first aid and Naloxone training did not administer the opioid investment drug until nine minutes after they arrived, and did not start CPR for another three minutes after that.
The 911 call also faced scrutiny during the investigation, starting with the BC ambulance call maker taking the first 3 ½ minutes of the emergency call to determine the location of the student residence Sir Arthur Currie on the campus.
The investigation of a coroner about the death of the 18-year-old Uvic student, Sidney McIntyre-Starko, launched his findings on Thursday. The jury of the investigation is asking for action at numerous levels, from government ministries and the university to 911 dispatchers. Karin Larsen has the details.
“I just don’t see that building on my map,” said operator BC Ambulance 911 during the call. “Maybe he is one of those who are not labeled?” The student residence Sir Arthur Currie opened in 1967, according to the UVIC website.
Among the many recommendations to the Minister of Postsecundaria Education is that all buildings on all campuses have unique civic addresses that are clearly labeled in the building itself and on the maps.
First aid to save lives were also delayed because the student who called 911 did not immediately reveal the 911 operator or the security of the campus that she and her friends had taken drugs. That student told research that it was because he was afraid of getting into trouble.
The research also heard testimony about the software used by the 911 operator. With the two unconscious students reported as blue and having seizures, the software put the 911 operator in the system’s seizures protocol, which directed the 911 operator who asked if the unconscious students were pregnant or had brain tumors, among other conditions.
A recommendation to the International Emergency Academy, which controls the proprietary software known as medical priority dispatch systems, is to update the software to react to the reports of multiple unconscious patients by generating an immediate priority response, while directing the operator who asks a monitoring question about the possible consumption of medications.
Kenton Starko, Sydney’s father, praised the jury’s work at the end of the investigation.
“I think many positive recommendations were made,” he said. “They made the best recommendations that could with the information they had.”
The McIntyre-Starko family lawyer said that the primary question that arises from the investigation is how to make a change to help future victims of the BC overdose crisis.
“This was a preventable death,” said Anthony Vecchio. “The theme of prevention begins with Uvic, and a girl who stayed for 15 minutes before RCP had, 12 minutes before they gave him Naloxone.”
The BC email service says that the non -regulated drug toxicity is the main cause of death in the province for people aged 10 to 59, which represents more deaths than homicides, suicides, accidents and combined natural causes.
Since BC declared toxic drugs a public health emergency in 2016, more than 16,000 people have died from overdose.
Forensic investigations do not assign guilt, but they are public consultations that aim to determine the circumstances surrounding a death.
