Scottish Drugs Forum assists the rollout of the Scottish Government-funded National Take Home Naloxone (THN) programme.
Naloxone is a pharmaceutical drug which can temporarily reverse the effects of an opiate overdose, providing more time for an ambulance to arrive and treatment to be given.
The National Take Home Naloxone programme involves Naloxone being provided to those thought to be at risk of opiate overdose – once they have undergone specialist training.
This training will also be available to their family, friends, carers, partners and other people they associate with and who are likely to be in the vicinity if an overdose occurs.
Scottish Drugs Forum’s role in promoting and participating in pilot programmes during the early development of Naloxone as an emergency intervention measure in Scotland led directly to our involvement in the rollout of the National THN programme, which was launched in 2010.
It is an extension of Scottish Drugs Forum’s pioneering Critical Incidents Prevention and Intervention Training launched in 2004.
The Scottish Government announced a one year extension of the Scottish THN programme roll-out in early 2012.
Scottish Drugs Forum is continuing its work in support of the programme roll-out, with the additional element of providing support for local area service providers to develop peer trainer networks. These networks will help widen the reach of this life-saving training among drug users, their friends, families and staff working directly with service users.
SDF is also playing a more formalised strategic role to help Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and others embed THN across the care sector in Scotland.
What we do – Take Home Naloxone training
Scottish Drugs Forum’s Naloxone awareness-raising training focuses on the wider issues surrounding drug-related death, drug overdose and Scottish Drugs Forum’s Critical Incidents and Take Home Naloxone programmes.
This is aimed at groups who would benefit from awareness of these issues but will not necessarily be expected to physically intervene when an overdose occurs.
Topics covered include:
- Drug-related death in Scotland
- Causes of overdose
- Recognising overdose signs and symptoms
- Identifying groups of people who are especially at risk of overdosing
- Opportunities for preventing drug-related deaths
- Basic first aid skills
- The role of Naloxone in an emergency
Our Naloxone administration training covers the above AND specific instruction on how to intervene in an overdose emergency through administering:
- First Aid
- Resuscitation techniques
- Take Home Naloxone
If you are a service user with any of the drug and alcohol services in Moray and are interested in Naloxone training please ask your key worker.
