Hundreds of Naloxone pouches are being handed out to Highlands and Islands police to reverse drug overdoses

Nearly 600 Naloxone pouches are being distributed to Highlands and Islands police officers to reverse life-threatening overdoses.

Officers in the Highlands and Islands are being trained to use Naloxone nasal spray and carry it as part of their on-duty kit.

Naloxone is designed to reverse respiratory suppression caused by drugs such as heroin, methadone, opium, morphine, codeine, tramadol and fentanyl.

This can buy the casualty critical minutes until ambulance clinicians arrive on scene where it may have been fatal otherwise.

‘Helps to save lives’

Chief superintendent Conrad Trickett, divisional commander for Highlands and Islands, said: “The role of policing goes beyond law enforcement and preservation of life lies at the very core of our duties.

“Equipping officers in the Highlands and Islands with Naloxone supplements their existing extensive first aid training and helps them to fulfil that responsibility.

“Officers are often first on scene at incidents of overdose and the Naloxone nasal sprays give us the opportunity to buy someone critical time until professional medical help arrives.

“Drugs misuse can have a devastating effect on individuals, families and entire communities and I hope the carriage of Naloxone by our officers helps to saves lives and positively change attitudes.”

Naloxone started being carried in Caithness, Glasgow, Dundee, Falkirk, Grangemouth and Stirling in March last year.

Since then, it has been used in at least 95 incidents by officers, with positive outcomes on all but four occasions, where in three of those cases officers believed the person was already deceased.

The police’s work to introduce Naloxone as part of standard issue kit to its officers has been supported by the Scottish Government and is now also moving northwards.

Almost 4,000 officers are now both trained and equipped with Naloxone or are due to undertake online training in the coming weeks.

In August, a police roll-out of Naloxone began with officers at Lerwick Police Station receiving kits on International Overdose Awareness Day.

Shetland was the first in Scotland outside the original test areas to receive the kits.

All officers are required to undergo online training before they are able to go out on duty with the Naloxone kits.

Training and issuing of kits across the country is expected to be completed in early 2023.