The HSE has launched a potentially life-saving new programme in Cork to provide naloxone, a medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose, directly to people who have overdosed but decline ambulance transport to hospital.
Led by Dr Daragh Mathews, Emergency Medicine Doctor at Cork University Hospital, the National Ambulance Service’s Alternative Prehospital Pathway (APP) is launching a team that includes a doctor who can provide a naloxone take-home pack, ensuring this medication reaches those most at risk.
In 2024, the HSE supplied 6,944 units of naloxone to services nationwide and trained 2,330 people in overdose awareness and naloxone administration in collaboration with community partners.
“This new service can save lives by getting naloxone into the hands of people who need it most, when it’s needed,” Dr Mathews said.
“For someone who has just experienced an overdose, even if they choose not to go to hospital, a witness having access to naloxone could mean a vital second chance.”
Professor Eamon Keenan, national clinical lead for HSE Addiction Services welcomed the new APP Take Home Naloxone pilot.
“It will improve access to naloxone for people who use drugs in the community, and this is a key factor in reducing overdose deaths in our society,” he said. If successful, the pilot may be rolled out in other areas, Prof. Keenan said.
Naloxone is a prescription medication used to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid drugs including heroin, morphine, codeine, methadone and synthetic opioids (for example nitazenes).
The most recent data from the National Drug-Related Deaths Index (NDRDI) recorded 354 drug poisoning deaths in 2021, a decrease from 439 drug poisoning deaths in 2020.
Opioids (mainly methadone) were the most common drug group reported, accounting for 70% of deaths in 2021.
The majority of deaths involved prescribable drugs, the most common being methadone (129), diazepam (112), alprazolam (107), pregabalin (83), and Zopiclone (59).
Naloxone works by displacing opioid molecules from their receptors in the body and brain. There are two types of naloxone available in Ireland – a nasal spray and an intramuscular injection.