The UK government, with the Minister of Health in Northern Ireland, is seeking views on proposed changes to the Human Medicine Regulations 2012 to widen access to Naloxone by expanding the list of services and individuals that can give it out without a prescription or other written instruction. Naloxone is a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, and therefore can help to prevent overdose deaths.
Link to DHSC Press Release:
Government consults on increasing access to lifesaving overdose medicine - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Link to Consultation Documents:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-expanding-access-to-naloxone/consultation-on-expanding-access-to-naloxone#introduction-to-naloxone and the response form can be accessed here.
Expanding access to naloxone: summary of feedback - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The consultation received 704 responses from all 4 UK nations. Just under a third of the responses were from organisations and just over two-thirds were from individuals.
There was strong support for the proposals in the consultation. Most of the respondents agreed that the individuals and services the UK Government consulted on should be able to supply naloxone without a prescription. Most respondents also agreed that allowing the individuals and services consulted on to supply take-home naloxone without a prescription would help reduce overdoses and drug-related deaths.
You can find a more detailed summary of the consultation responses in the link to summary of feedback above, including anonymised comments that provide insight into respondents’ views on some of the proposals.