Minister calls for drug plan ‘now’

THE Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, has stated that he is anxious to get a new medical treatment up and running in an effort to tackle drug overdoses.

In a statement to Southside People, the minister said he did not want a pilot scheme involving the use of naloxone, a medication used to counter the effects of overdose, to be delayed.

The minister was responding to queries from this newspaper after shocking new statistics revealed how Ireland currently has the third highest number of recorded drug-related deaths in Europe.

Last week, a petition calling for urgent action to tackle fatal drug overdoses in Ireland was presented to Minister Varadkar. The petition was organised by Merchants Quay Ireland and the National Family Support Network (NFSN) to highlight the fact that with approximately 365 cases of fatal drug overdoses a year in Ireland – which is almost twice the number of fatalities from road traffic deaths – only Estonia and Norway record a greater number of drug-related deaths in Europe.

Both agencies issued the petition as they called for the fast-tracking of legislation to make naloxone available and for the development of a comprehensive National Overdose Prevention Strategy for Ireland. Tony Geoghegan, the CEO of Merchants Quay Ireland, the charity that works with homeless persons and drug users, said the issue of drug-related death was a national concern.

“We welcome the HSE National Naloxone Pilot which will prescribe and distribute naloxone to 600 opioid users to use in the event of an overdose,

? he said.

“But it should be part of a formal National Overdose Strategy, rather than a stand-alone pilot. If we want to reduce overdose and save lives, it’s important that the actions we implement are evidence based, coherent and consistent around the country.

?

The director of the NFSN, a self-help organisation that deals with the experiences of families affected by drugs, Sadie Grace, explained that naloxone is one of a number of

“practical, evidence based interventions which are commonplace in cities across Europe experiencing similar difficulties to Dublin

?.

“The level of fatal drug overdoses in Ireland is totally unacceptable and the NFSN is regularly contacted by service users who have lost family members to opioid overdose,

? Ms Grace said.

“Sadly, in many cases, these fatal drug overdoses may have been preventable if appropriate interventions were available. If this were occurring in any other sector it would cause a huge outcry.

“I am now calling on the Government to prioritise this issue and put a comprehensive National Overdose Strategy in place.

?

In his response to Southside People, Minister Varadkar said there had been

“an awful lot of strategies produced in health in recent years…that had not always led to real changes for the better

?.

“I would not like us to delay the naloxone pilot until another strategy is developed and agreed,

? the minister said.

“These can take months or years. Rather I would like to see issues related to overdose incorporated into the new National Drugs Strategy for 2016 onwards. Work on this begins shortly.

?

The minister stated that family, friends and careworkers of heroin addicts are currently being trained to identify the signs of an overdose and administer a lifesaving heroin antidote as part of a national pilot project.

The project will involve 600 opiate users attending the voluntary and statutory addiction services. It is also proposed to involve the Irish Prison Service.

The trial group includes drug users attending clinics and outreach programmes as well as homeless people.

Training in the naloxone project is well underway, according to the minister’s office, and the HSE is meeting all the stakeholders to brief them.

The project is expected to go live in May with the naloxone pilot administered in an injection supplied in a prefilled syringe.