A NEW pilot project will see frontline police officers carry medication that can reverse the effects of an overdose.

Two Police Scotland officers, whose posts are being supported by funding from the Scottish Government Drug Deaths Taskforce, have begun their new roles facilitating the intra-nasal Naloxone test of change project.

The Sergeant and Constable will work within the Safer Communities Division, dedicated to administering, implementing and delivering the pilot project, which has been described as one of the most significant test of change projects in modern Scottish policing.

It will operate in Glasgow East, as well as Dundee and Falkirk.

All police officers working in these areas will be asked to complete a training session before deciding whether to participate in the programme by carrying the intra-nasal treatment while on duty.

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Professor Catriona Matheson, of Stirling University, is chair of the Scottish Government Drug Deaths Taskforce. She said: “We are delighted Police Scotland has worked with the Drug Deaths Taskforce to develop this project. Naloxone saves lives and the intra-nasal form the police will carry is very safe and effective.

“This will complement the work of the Ambulance Service and others who the Drug Deaths Taskforce is working with to increase naloxone carriage, including family members and peers. Well done to Police Scotland for its ambition to contribute positively to addressing Scotland’s dreadful levels of drug-related deaths.”

Following the project, an extensive evidence-based evaluation will be carried out at the conclusion of the pilot period, which will inform future decisions around the carriage of Naloxone spray by officers across the organisation.

Jardine Simson, chief executive of Scottish Recovery Consortium (SRC), said: “Officers trained to carry and use this life-saving, and safe, medication can only be seen as a positive in the need to reduce deaths from drug overdose. Nobody gets recovery if they have lost their life to overdose. The more people we help save then the more we can offer treatment and recovery to.

“Police Scotland’s public health approach to this issue is to be applauded; every drug overdose is an avoidable death and this approach will save lives.”

Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie, Police Scotland Head of Drug Strategy, added: “As work progresses to implement the pilot project, the Naloxone Delivery Steering Group has received significant support from the public, as well as key partners.

“While one of the key aims of this project is to ascertain how often officers may require to use Naloxone in the course of their duties, another is to address, and reduce, the stigma relating to drug use, which may prevent people living with addiction from seeking the life-changing help they need. As a consequence, another intended outcome is to improve relationships between communities impacted by problematic drug use as part of our public health drugs strategy.

“A great deal of work went into assessing the available information around the safety of intra-nasal Naloxone sprays prior to the pilot being approved. The medication will have virtually no effect on anyone who hasn’t taken opioids, and for someone suffering from an overdose, it can buy them essential time before the ambulance service arrives to deliver advanced medical treatments.”