Consultation on increasing access to overdose medicine

The Department of Health and Social Care has launched a consultation to make lifesaving medicine which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose available to more frontline workers.

The consultation seeks to amend current regulations in order to allow naloxone to be supplied and administered by a wider group of people regularly coming into contact with drug users. Police officers, prison officers, paramedics and pharmacists are among the professions that would be given access to the drug able to help save the lives of people suffering an overdose.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid said: “Drug misuse destroys lives and has a devastating impact on people’s health, their livelihoods and their families. To prevent people dying from drug abuse we need to make sure the right treatment and medicines are available, which is why we’re launching this consultation on naloxone today. This government is committed to tackling drug misuse and saving lives, including through our new Joint Combating Drugs Unit and an ambitious new strategy.”

Drug related deaths have doubled since 2012 with the latest statistics showing record numbers of opiate-related deaths across the UK.