Overdose Awareness Day

At SSJ we work with people facing multiple disadvantages. They face a combination of problems with their current circumstances being shaped by long term exposure to poverty, deprivation, trauma, and abuse. These inequalities can manifest in a combination of issues including drug misuse.

On average there are at least 2 opiate-related overdoses per day, where an ambulance attended, across Portsmouth and Southampton.

An opiate-related incident can be helped with a simple tool called Naloxone. Naloxone is the only medication that temporarily blocks the effects of opiate drugs and can save someone’s life who is experiencing an opiate-related overdose.

Naloxone can be given by injection or nasal spray to reverse the effects of an opiate overdose and ease breathing difficulties that could be fatal. This then provides more time for an ambulance to be called and treatment to be administered.

Naloxone is an essential tool for our front-line workers who use it to save lives.  In Portsmouth, between January and March 2024, staff administered Naloxone 19 times, preventing possible deaths.

It is our aim to ensure all relevant front-line staff have access to and are trained in the use of naloxone.

As you read this, please take a moment to remember all the people that have died due to accidental overdoses.