Scotland has announced distribution of take-home Naloxone kits to individuals at high risk of accidental opiate overdoses, in a bid to cut down the number of drug deaths.
The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) will distribute take-home kits as a part of a programme funded by the Drug Deaths Taskforce. Individuals who have been resuscitated by the SAS after an accidental overdose are eligible to receive the kit.
In 2019, the SAS responded to ~5000 overdose incidents in which Naloxone was administered. With the help of take-home kits, friends or relatives will be able to administer Naloxone to an individual with a suspected overdose while the ambulance is enroute to the scene, thereby reducing the likelihood of fatality.
The kits will be provided at incidents where non-fatal accidental overdoses are reported to 999. Family members and carer groups who are likely to witness a future opiate overdose will be handed a kit and trained on administering Naloxone.
Angela Constance, Minister for Drugs Policy, said: “We know that Naloxone is a very effective way of reducing death by overdose. By providing take-home kits in certain circumstances, there is a chance that a relative or friend will be able to administer it early in the episode, increasing the prospects of a successful outcome.”
