National naloxone programme Scotland – Quarterly monitoring bulletin: July to September (Q2) 2021 to 2022
This release by Public Health Scotland presents information on the number of take-home naloxone kits issued by the National Naloxone Programme in Scotland. Figures are presented separately for kits issued from community outlets, kits issued in prisons at the point of prisoner release, kits dispensed via community prescription, and kits issued by Scottish Ambulance Service.
Accidental overdose is a common cause of death among users of heroin, morphine and similar drugs, which are referred to as opioids. Naloxone is a drug which reverses the effects of a potentially fatal overdose with these drugs.
Main Points
During 2021/22 Quarter 2 (1 July 2021 to 30 September 2021):
- 7,219 Take-Home Naloxone (THN) kits were issued.
- 5,640 THN kits were issued by services based in the community.
- Community THN supplies included 1,552 kits issued by non-drug treatment services. Ninety per cent (1,392) of these were supplied by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs.
- 399 kits were issued by prisons in Scotland.
- 862 kits were dispensed by community pharmacies.
- 295 THN kits were provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
At the end of 2021/22 Quarter 2, the reach of the National Naloxone Programme was estimated to be 61.2% – an increase of around 2 percentage points compared to 2021/22 Quarter 1 (59.3%).