Life-saving kits to be given to families of injecting drug users

Shropshire Partnership’s Drug and Alcohol Action Team is supporting Shropshire Service Users Network which has been selected to pilot a national scheme to give potentially life-saving equipment to those in need.

The team is committed to reducing drug and alcohol-related harm, and as part of that families and carers of injecting drug users in Shropshire will be given training in how to respond to overdoses and how to administer a drug called naloxone in the event of an overdose.

Shropshire Service Users Network (SUN) has been selected to be one of 16 sites in England given the funding by the National Treatment Agency for substance misuse (NTA) to pilot the scheme, involving around 950 family members and carers nationwide, who are often the ones to encounter someone overdosing.

Naloxone works by reversing the effects of heroin for long enough for medical help to arrive. These projects will increase the amount of naloxone available to drug users, family members and carers, and train them in its use and other life saving measures. They will also encourage drug users to think about the risks they take and ways of reducing them, including drug treatment options to support them in their recovery.

Naloxone is very safe and is regularly carried by ambulance crews for use in the event of a suspected overdose. The need for such demonstration sites is fully supported by UK clinical guidelines. It does not cause dependency and has no euphoria-inducing side effects. It would have to be used in enormous quantities in order to be harmful, and protocols will be in place to ensure that the naloxone is stored safely.

Abi Butters, of the Shropshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team, said: “We are very pleased to be part of this groundbreaking scheme, particularly as we are a large rural county. We hope this will be really beneficial to all the families and carers who are supporting loved ones to overcome drug misuse in Shropshire.”

A Shropshire carer who supports the scheme said: “My partner has done his best to provide a loving and safe home for myself and our family. But in reality we all live with the insecurity of not having enough knowledge or practical education to be able to deal with a situation when things go wrong. I always have one ear fixed to the bathroom when he is in there and live in fear of one of the children going in and finding him unconscious on the floor. I have some first aid knowledge but what I would like is to be trained, aware and ready so that if the worst happened – and we all know that it can – I would be able to deal with a poisoning or overdose situation. It’s the difference between life and death isn’t it?”

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