Inside Wick police station for special Naloxone training to help drug overdose victims
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Police officers in Caithness will have the option to carry a life-saving drug after the county was added to a national scheme to help tackle drug deaths.
The area was chosen to become part of a programme where police are trained to administer Naloxone nasal sprays for people who may have had an overdose of heroin or similar drugs.
It is hoped the programme, which is also operating in other areas of Scotland including Glasgow and Dundee, will help reduce the high rate of drug deaths in Scotland.
Officers in Wick started to receive training for the emergency first aid kit on Monday, while those in Thurso got the training yesterday. Those who choose to take part in the trial will carry Naloxone pouches on their belts and administer the drug if they encounter a person who has overdosed with heroin, fentanyl, methadone or other opiates.
Operational superintendent (Highland) Maggie Pettigrew said on Monday: "Today we're training officers in a pilot [scheme] for carrying Naloxone – a first aid tool for them to administer if they come across anyone they suspect has had an overdose.
"It's been rolled out in Falkirk, Dundee, Glasgow and here in Caithness. We're trying to introduce it into lots of areas where there are different issues and looking at more remote areas such as Caithness which does have a drug problem and has suffered from a number of drug deaths."
Lesley Campbell, health improvement coordinator with Caithness Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service based in Wick, was also at the Monday training session and said she and her colleagues have been involved in Naloxone training for a number of years.
"We provide it to people who use drugs, to their friends and families and any member of the public who has concerns and wants to do the training and carry Naloxone to save a life," she said.
"The police are now coming on board as a partner to provide the same first aid."
Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. This means that it attaches to opioid receptors in the brain and reverses and blocks the effects of drugs such as heroin or morphine.
It can quickly restore normal breathing to a person if it has slowed or stopped due to overdose. But, it has no effect on someone who does not have opioids in their system and will have no effect on some of the more commonly used substances such as diazepam, Xanax and alcohol.
Ms Campbell talked about "poly drug users" who take a variety of substances simultaneously, and added: "If they have an opiate in their system then at least that part will be dealt with and their body can maybe cope with the rest."
Launched in 2011, a take-home Naloxone programme was introduced by the Scottish Government in response to the rising number of opioid-related deaths and following successful small-scale pilots in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Inverness.
Drug deaths in Scotland have been classified as a public health emergency and the statistics show serious increases in drug overdoses and related fatalities in Caithness.
The current initiative is part of a partnership public health approach to Scotland's drug death figures, and the pilot is funded and supported by the Scottish Government's Drug Deaths Taskforce.
Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Gary Ritchie – head of drug strategy for Police Scotland – was present at Monday's session helping train officers in Wick and the following day in Thurso.
"I operate all over the country as part of a national remit," he said.
"I've been working as part of the Drug Deaths Taskforce for just over a year now. One of the things we think we can do to help is to issue officers with Naloxone – a lifesaving remedy for somebody who is having an opioid overdose.
"There are some questions as to how effective this will be so we're running a six-month test in a number of areas."
ACC Ritchie talked about the strong local "partnerships" involved in the Caithness scheme and the "rise in problematic drug use" in the county over the past few years.
"In 80 per cent of [overdose] cases in Scotland last year, opioids were involved. The number of drugs deaths is increasing and we have the worst rates of drug deaths in Europe – four times worse than the next [country in the list]."
Though the Caithness numbers were obviously smaller than those in city environments, he said that the impacts in rural communities were much more strongly felt.
He added that he would be providing direct input for officers in Wick and Thurso to give them facts about Naloxone and how to administer the medication. "There will also be the opportunity for them to ask questions afterwards."
Training is mandatory for officers but, as it is a pilot scheme, carriage of the Naloxone pouches is voluntary. Part of the evaluation will also look at changing mindsets and attitudes.
A supplementary aim of the pilot is to address and reduce the stereotypes and stigma faced by people who use drugs and may require Naloxone treatment. It is hoped the visible carriage of Naloxone by officers will also help change the attitudes of people who use drugs towards the police.
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