UK. Take-home Naloxone in England
UK. Take-home Naloxone in England
Drug-related deaths have reached a record high in England; there were 2,383 drug misuse deaths registered in 2016, of which 1,867 involved an opiate.
Naloxone, a medication that can save the life of someone overdosing, is cheap, and has no potential for misuse, so it is imperative for local authorities to provide it to people who are at high-risk of experiencing or witnessing an overdose. Yet, research undertaken by Release has shown that the provision of naloxone is wholly inadequate, with a lack of sufficient coverage and significant barriers to accessing this medication. We have provided an overview of the state of naloxone provision in England in the map below. The findings show that there must be an urgent and coordinated response to this problem, which is why the UK Government must initiate a national take-home naloxone programme. At the very least, the Government must better support local provision of take-home naloxone (THN) to prevent more unnecessary deaths. (Release, UK, 18.12.2017)