Exclusive: naloxone will be distributed on the streets as part of pilot scheme in Redcar and Cleveland

A life-saving drug that reverses the effect of an overdose of an opioid, such as heroin, is to be handed out on the street to people in England under a pilot scheme to tackle the record numbers of drug-related deaths.

The main life-threatening effect of an opioid overdose is to slow down or stop breathing – the drug naloxone blocks this effect and reverses breathing difficulties.

The majority of people who access naloxone do so through drug treatment or harm reduction services but studies show people outside of structured drug treatment are most likely to die of a drug-related cause.

Addaction, the drug and alcohol charity which provides drug treatment services, is to launch a pilot on Monday in Redcar and Cleveland, in the north-east of England, to hand out naloxone to users of opioids on the streets.

In August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that 4,359 deaths from drug poisoning were recorded in England and Wales in 2018, the highest figure since records began in 1993, and the steepest one-year increase. More than half of the deaths, or 2,208, involved an opiate such as heroin. Around two-thirds of the deaths reported, or 2,917, were from drug misuse.

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Gary Besterfield, service manager of Addaction Redcar and Cleveland, said: “Every drug related death is a tragedy and every death is avoidable. Too many families in Redcar and Cleveland have lost loved ones. It’s time to take action.

“The opportunity to carry and use naloxone shouldn’t be restricted to people who are engaging in drug treatment. This is about being proactive, engaging people where they feel comfortable and saving lives.”

Under the pilot, a team of peers – people with lived experience of drug issues – will take naloxone out on the streets, approaching people who use opioids. The team will give out the drug and train people in how to use it.

The pilot will run for 12 weeks and is supported by Cleveland police. Addaction plans to roll out the scheme in all its services across the UK – the first national treatment charity to do so.

George Charlton, an independent trainer and consultant, who has teamed up with Addaction to launch the project, said: “Peer-to-peer naloxone is about more than not restricting naloxone to bricks and mortar. It’s about empowering people with a history of drug abuse to help their friends and show they have a positive role to play in society. When we use naloxone people get to see their kids grow up, they get to take care of the people they love. The only thing it enables is breathing.”

The official figures on drug-related deaths revealed that the north-east registered the highest number, with 96.3 deaths per million people, compared with 39.4 in London, where the rate was lowest. The figures for Wales, the north-west and Yorkshire and the Humber were also high.

Drug treatment experts, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists, reacted angrily to the data, accusing the government of putting people’s lives at risk by cutting the funding of vital treatments services.

Studies have shown that councils have responded to central government cuts by slashing spending on drug treatment services by about 27% since 2015–16, and by more than 50% in some areas.

Scotland is grappling with a similar crisis with the drug-related death toll increasing by 27% over the past year to reach a record high of 1,187, according to data released in July, putting the country on a par with the US in per capita terms.