Roseanna Naloxone Letter

8/4/2019 Roseanna Naloxone Letter

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M!n!stear airson Slf:linte Coimhearsnachd agus Cuisean LaghaMinister for Community Safety and Legal AffairsRoseanna Chonaigean SPA

Roseanna Cunningham MSP

FIT:08457741741

E: [email protected]

Ms Kezia Dugdale MSPThe Scottish Parliament

EDINBURGH

EH991SP

Ur faidhlelYour ref: GC-03/08/11Ar faidhle/Our ref: 2011/1013767

2'2. August 2011

The ScottishGovernmentRiaghaltas na h-Alba

~Q A.R ~.:... )

Thank you for your letter of 3 August 2011 to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing

and Cities Strategy regarding the National Naloxone Programme. As the Minister for

Community Safety and Legal Affairs I have responsibility for drugs policy which includes thisprogramme.

As you are aware the Naloxone Programme is well underway right across Scotland and we

are supporting it with 500 000 over the first two years which includes reimbursement of all

kits issued, a national training programme, information materials and specific support to the

Scottish Prison Service as well as a clear monitoring and evaluation programme to assess

its impact.

The issue you raise around the provision of naloxone to crucial non health staff in services

such as homeless hostels, supported accommodation and outreach services was indeed a

limitation of the programme owing to the current legal restrictions of supplying PrescriptionOnly Medicines (POMs). It was for this very reason that the Lord Advocate issued guidance

which ensures all practitioners are permitted to supply individuals working in services that

are 'likely to come into contact with those at risk of opiate overdose' with naloxone. In basic

terms, this protects anyone who is authorised to supply naloxone whether through a Patient

Group Direction (PGD) or a prescription. The Guidelines enable service staff that are incontact with those at risk of overdose to be supplied naloxone once they have completed the

training in line with the national PGD.

Following reports from various homeless hostel managers that there was a concern over

how the Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS) would view the

programme and crucially how they would reflect this in their inspections, my officials havemet SCSWIS officials who have confirmed their complete support and understanding of the

Taigh Naomh Anndrais, Rathad Regent, Dun Eideann EH1 3DG

St Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG

www.scotland.gov.uk
mailto:[email protected]://www.scotland.gov.uk/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/mailto:[email protected]


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programme. They are fully content that under the national PGD, a service worker can be

supplied with a naloxone kit and that that same worker can store the kit within the hostel

premises. They note that this must be stored in line with any other POM and can beadministered by anyone in an emergency.

My officials have worked closely with SCSWIS to draft guidelines to be published on their

website and intra net in order to raise awareness of their support for the programme. They

have also agreed to speak at a national naloxone development seminar on 31 August inorder to further reassure the sector that they support the programme.

We fully understand the initial reticence of some within this sector but are confident that the

reassurances of SCSWIS through their website, intranet and e-magazine as well as their

participation in our national event for all local naloxone leads will ease any fears and enable

the programme to be as widespread as possible and help to significantly reduce drug related

deaths in Scotland.

I A n

ROSEANNA CUNNINGHAM

Taigh Naomh Anndrais, Rathad Regent, Dun Eideann EHl 3DG

St Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EHl 3DG

www.scotland.gov.uk
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/


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Roseanna Naloxone Letter

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