Interview by the Global Drug Survey with Kirsten Horsburgh, the National Naloxone Coordinator for Scottish Drugs Forum. She is an expert in preventing drug-related deaths. Based in Glasgow Kristen talks about how Scotland has responded to Covid-19 and describes innovative practice including postal naloxone and e-learning for saving lives.
The intersecting drug toxicity and COVID-19 crises are creating challenges for harm reduction and naloxone programs, requiring us to adapt our practice in order to maintain the health of clients, the community and staff. Naloxone distribution remains a vital lifesaving service. The ways in which programs are conducted must take into consideration up-to-date information about COVID-19, and related infection prevention and control recommendations.
The history of an unnatural disaster-drug overdose-and the emergence of naloxone as a social and technological solution. For years, drug overdose was unmentionable in polite society. OD was understood to be something that took place in dark alleys-an ugly death awaiting social deviants-neither scientifically nor clinically interesting. But over the last several years, overdose prevention has become the unlikely object of a social movement, powered by the miracle drug naloxone.
Release have developed best practice guidance for the provision of naloxone. Building on the findings from Release’s research on naloxone in England, Release hosted the Naloxone Steering Group 2019 in April 2019, in partnership with the National Addiction Centre at King’s College London. The objective of the steering group was to get key stakeholders together for a day to discuss some of the main aspects of naloxone provision in the UK and to produce guidelines on the provision of naloxone for people who might experience or witness an opioid overdose.
‘Staying Alive in Scotland’– approved by Scottish Government and developed in consultation with Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) and other stakeholders – links directly to the Government’s alcohol and drugs strategy, ‘Rights, Respect and Recovery’ and the subsequent action plan.The easy-to-use toolkit lays out the evidence-based measures that will help to reduce drug-related deaths. It will also be useful for commissioners, planners and managers in stakeholder organisations to self-audit current provision and practice, and to work jointly to improve these.
If someone you care about just survived an overdose, you’re probably looking for what to do next to help the person and yourself. The person may be your child, partner, parent, friend, or co-worker, and your relationship may be intense and involved or more limited. You might feel terrified, angry, relieved, helpless, grateful, defeated, all of those, or some other combination of feelings. You may have just discovered that they use opioids; you may have known for a long time and have been through this before; or you may use with the person and know a lot about their use. You may have been the one to rescue them from overdose.
