2,000 people participate in Overdose Awareness and Naloxone Administration training in 2023

Almost 2,000 people participated in Overdose Awareness and Naloxone Administration training facilitated by the HSE over 2023.

It comes following “an overdose cluster” in Cork, with the latest figures showing 17 overdoses linked to synthetic opioid nitazene.

The Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy Hildegarde Naughton highlighted the programme’s progress over the last year, saying that 6,488 units of naloxone have been supplied by the HSE to services to date in 2023.

Naloxone is a prescription-only medication that is used as an antidote to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid drugs like heroin, morphine, methadone and synthetic opioids if someone overdoses.

Minister Naughton is committed to supporting further development of naloxone services, including additional training in 2024 as well as work on introducing measures to increase accessibility.

“We saw the lifesaving effects of naloxone during the recent overdose cases in Dublin and Cork - in many cases it was administered before emergency services arrived on the scene, and this reinforces the need to make it more readily available," Minister Naughton said.

She explained that her department is working closely with the HSE National Naloxone Oversight Quality Assurance Group, to increase awareness and accessibility of naloxone to support workers, peers, and family members.

The Minister highlighted a partnership between the Irish Prison Service, the HSE and the Irish Red Cross for the provision of intranasal naloxone to prisoners on release and with a history of opioid use, along with two educational videos to empower them to respond effectively in overdose situations.

Programmes with the Gardaí and HSE National Social Inclusion Office will also help to make the drug more accessible to those who may need to administer in an emergency.

Minister Naughton concluded: “Naloxone training is part of an integrated approach to reducing drug harm under the National Drugs Strategy, and I am committed to supporting practical initiatives that help to save and improve the lives of those affected by drug use.”