Take Home Naloxone Kit pilot goes live in selected Portsmouth community pharmacies
Written by admin on Friday 3rd August 2018
Pilot site community pharmacies now provide the take home kit injections and training on how and when to administer them in an emergency situation
The service will be offered to suitable substance misuse and needle exchange clients who are at the greatest risk of opioid overdose
Press release:
Portsmouth City Council launches new activity to reduce drug related deaths
As part of a drive to reduce drug related deaths in the city, Portsmouth City Council have trained and funded eight pharmacies to be able to provide Naloxone to vulnerable drug users.
Naloxone is an emergency antidote for overdoses caused by opiates and opioids such as heroin, morphine and fentanyl, which can bring someone around long enough for the paramedics to arrive. The main life-threatening effect of heroin and other opiates is to slow down and stop breathing. Naloxone reverses these breathing difficulties and is cost-effective and easy to administer. It will be available to drug users, ex-drug users at risk of relapse and carers of drug users.
The 8 pharmacies have been selected as they are the busiest for needle exchange and provide a spread across the city. 400 Naloxone kits have been purchased initially.
This latest activity strengthens the work that has already been done to reduce drug related deaths, including the appointment of a Harm Reduction Worker to work with disengaged, hard to reach drug users and prescribe low threshold methadone.
Portsmouth is the fourth worst city in England for drug related deaths according to the most recent data. Guidance from Public Health England recommends that naloxone should be available from a greater range of community resources such as pharmacies and homeless services.
Cllr Matthew Winnington, Cabinet Member for Heath, Wellbeing & Social Care, said:
| "It's important that we tackle drug related deaths as people are dying much younger than they should be. We don't want to be one of the worst in the country for this statistic. Drug users are someone's child and potentially a sibling and parent as well as a member of our city's community. People addicted to drugs are often the most marginalised and vulnerable in society and there are complex reasons that have brought them to be using drugs. Naloxone saves lives and is vital in preventing overdose deaths but it is not the only answer. We will continue to work hard in our substance misuse work to help people stop using harmful drugs. There are lots of examples of people who have turned their lives around after successfully quitting drugs and we look forward to having many more of these. We also hope that our work in this area will reduce hospital admissions, anti-social behaviour and crime." |
Richard Buxton, Professional Services Development Manager, Community Pharmacy South Central (CPSC), said:
"We are delighted to be able to work collaboratively with Portsmouth City Council and the Portsmouth Recovery Hub in providing eight community pharmacy sites across the city to support and supply 'Take Home Naloxone Kits' directly to suitable clients during this pilot. "Community pharmacies have regular contact with many people who are at the highest risk of potential overdose, with some of these individuals unlikely to be known or registered with any other healthcare provider. The wider distribution of 'Naloxone Take Home kits' to this vulnerable group of people through community pharmacies could potentially save lives and reduce the number of drug related deaths in Portsmouth. This is a great example of the wider role that community pharmacy can provide in improving health outcomes. We look forward to monitoring the progress of this pilot over the coming year and to looking at more ways in which community pharmacy can be part of solutions to other key healthcare issues in Portsmouth. |
For substance misuse support contact the Recovery Hub on 023 9229 4573 or email recovery.hub@ssj.org.uk. They offer drop-in assessment days on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am-3pm. Visit The Recovery Hub, Campion Place, 44-46 Elm Grove, Southsea, PO5 1JG.
Notes to editors
The community pharmacies involved in the pilot are:
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A shortened press release was published in 'The News' Portsmouth on Wednesday 8th August:
As expected this story has generated quite a reaction, with just under 300 comments on the Facebook post the News did: