Advice on how to deal with drug emergencies
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NHS HIGHLAND is offering advice to people to help ensure there are no drug-related deaths on its patch over the festive period.
Its harm reduction service said that with more awareness, everyone has it in them to save a life.
Christmas is a high risk time of year for drug-related emergencies, yet most of them are preventable if danger signs are picked up early enough and acted on.
Lisa Ross, clinical harm reduction nurse specialist, is keen to remind people of the training their service provides and what symptoms they should look out for.
She said: “Most drug related deaths are preventable and when we train our clients, or their friends and families, we make a point of continually reminding them of the signs to look out for and by recognising these and phoning 999 they could save a life.”
What to look out for:
• Can you wake the person up?
• Do they respond to your voice or a gentle shake?
• Are they breathing?
Ms Ross said: “There are no safeguards or actions which can make taking illicit drugs completely safe. However by knowing the signs of an overdose it might mean someone gets help before it is too late.
“A snoring or rasping noise is the most commonly missed sign of an opiate overdose and it is a sign that the person is in grave danger.
“If you can’t wake them up and they are making this noise it means they are struggling for breath. If left like that there is a danger they could stop breathing altogether.”
The service offers training for drug users and their friends and families not only on how to recognise the signs of an overdose but also what to do in that situation.
This includes training on how to administer Naloxone, an antidote to opiate overdose. Drug users and their friends and family are given advice on recognising the signs of an overdose and how to administer the antidote. Its use can keep someone alive until the emergency services arrive.
Ms Ross said: “This is a message we want everyone to remember no matter what time of year it is but we know that this time of year particularly some people can take things too far and put their life at risk.
“We also know that this time of year can be very difficult for some people and they may look at ways of coping which can, again, put their life at risk.
Further information is available by contacting Highland Alcohol and Drugs Partnership on 01463 704608 www.highland-adp.org.uk
