ONVERSATION
Above left: Kirsten Horsburgh
from the Scottish Drug Forum
(SDF) talks about Glasgow’s peer
supply programme.
Above: Rachel Fance and
naloxone peers from the Change
Grow Live St Helens service
present initial findings and
data from their pilot supply
programme.
headed up by Jason Wallace and
Steph Kerr, had not only had a
significant impact on the numbers
of naloxone kits issued across
the city but had also reached
new cohorts through peer supply
and peer-to-peer education, with
hugely impressive results. Kirsten
also gave an overview of Scotland’s
priorities for harm reduction and
naloxone supply, including the
welcome news that paramedics are
now set to issue kits to overdose
casualties who refuse transport to
hospital for further treatment and
monitoring.
WWW.DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS.COM
L
ast year I was asked
to identify a service
in the North West to
pilot a peer-to-peer
naloxone pilot, and I
didn’t have to think
too long before recommending
the St Helens Integrated Recovery
Service, given their positive energy
and the passion of the staff. On
top of that, I was made aware that
peer mentor John Pilkington had
recently been alerted to a nearby
overdose incident and had rushed
from a waiting area where he was
welcoming people with tea and
coffee to successfully administer
naloxone to a man in a state of
respiratory failure. A powerful
reminder, if ever one was needed,
that naloxone saves lives.
It was therefore a proud
moment for St Helens service
manager Rachel Fance and local
service user involvement lead
Amanda Taft when naloxone peers
from the Change Grow Live St
Helens service presented the initial
findings and data from their pilot
supply programme. Rachel outlined
the programme’s structure and
delivery, including the training and
governance framework that had
been developed, and described how
the pilot had resulted in naloxone
being used to save lives in the town
centre on multiple occasions. The
pilot is now looking to expand
the recruitment of peer naloxone
educators in the coming year,
as well supporting and training
them through increased education
opportunities and the potential
for secondary needle and syringe
provision interventions.
The event also coincided with the
end of Change Grow Live’s six-month
nasal naloxone pilot, which ran
from August 2019 in Manchester,
Knowsley and HMP Risley. As project
lead, I was able to share a brief
presentation of some initial findings
and raw data. In overarching terms,
the supply of nasal naloxone had
been overwhelmingly popular with
people using our services, with a
significant increase in kits issued
and interest from key stakeholders
including hostels and law
enforcement.
The potential for the local
neighbourhood policing team
in Manchester to be trained in
the use of nasal naloxone is now
under consideration following a
successful pilot in Birmingham,
and Change Grow Live’s national
research manager Zoe Welch
will be working with myself and
the leads from each pilot area to
further evaluate the feedback, data
and associated costs from the six-
month delivery.
Zac McMaster led the afternoon
session, which focussed on
harnessing the potential of open
source technology, while discussions
also centred on what’s needed
for the development of effective
peer-to-peer initiatives that can
co-exist with statutory provision,
with attendees identifying critical
issues, concerns and new ideas to
formulate actionable solutions.
T
he content of the
day encapsulated
the core principles
of Release’s best
practice guide and
the innovative
work of EuroNPUD, with special
emphasis on the importance of
peer-to-peer naloxone initiatives
involving people who use drugs and
those with lived experience. Twitter
helped in promoting the event,
with great traction around the
#naloxoneivegotmine hashtag, and
we continue to strive for increased
awareness of the need for naloxone
to be available without barriers or
restrictions in all areas of the UK.
There was a clear commitment
from all involved to continued
collaboration, starting with sharing
the resources that have been
developed in St Helens as well as
all the material from the event. Our
hope is that by maintaining this
national community for ongoing
naloxone conversations we will
be able to help organisations
to continually innovate. This
community of practice will be
unified by a shared commitment
to meeting the ambitious but
achievable target of 100 per cent
of opiate users – as well as friends,
family and loved ones – having easy
and unimpaired access to life-saving
naloxone as standard practice.
Any organisation or group that
wants to be part of future events
is welcome contact me at Peter.
[email protected]
Peter Furlong is North West harm
reduction lead and development
manager at Change Grow Live
MARCH 2020 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 17