HSE launches life-saving drug in Cork to help reverse overdoses

THE HSE has said it is going to provide naloxone, a medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose, directly to people who have overdosed but decline ambulance transport to hospital. 

Ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on Sunday, the HSE said the National Ambulance Service’s (NAS) alternative pre-hospital pathway (APP) team, led by Dr Daragh Mathews at Cork University Hospital, will provide the medication.

“The team includes a doctor who can provide a naloxone take-home pack, ensuring this medication reaches those most at risk,” the HSE said in a statement this morning.

In 2024, the HSE supplied 6,944 units of naloxone to services nationwide and trained 2,330 people in overdose awareness and naloxone administration in collaboration with community partners.

Naloxone services, including training, are part of an integrated approach to reducing drug harm under the National Drugs Strategy, it said.

“This new service can save lives by getting naloxone into the hands of people who need it most, when it’s needed,” said Dr Mathews, an emergency medicine doctor and NCHD Lead for the APP project at Cork University Hospital.

“For someone who has just experienced an overdose, even if they choose not to go to hospital, a witness having access to naloxone could mean a vital second chance,” 

he added.

Prof Eamon Keenan, national clinical lead for HSE addiction srvices said he welcomed and supported the new APP take home naloxone pilot.

“It will improve access to naloxone for people who use drugs in the community, and this is a key factor in reducing overdose deaths in our society,” he added, and said he congratulated Dr Mathews on his work to establish it.

“I look forward to the results of the pilot,” he said.

“If successful, this has the potential to be rolled out in other areas.”