About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on the number of take-home naloxone kits issued by the National Naloxone Programme (NNP) in Scotland. Figures are presented separately for kits issued from community outlets, kits issued in prisons at the point of liberation, kits dispensed via community prescription, and kits issued by Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).

Accidental overdose is a common cause of death among users of heroin, morphine and similar drugs, which are referred to as opioids. Naloxone is a drug which reverses the effects of a potentially fatal overdose with these drugs.

Main points

During 2023/24 Quarter 4 (1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024):

• 7,023 Take-Home Naloxone (THN) kits were issued.
• 5,327 THN kits were issued by services based in the community.
  • Community THN supplies included 1,457 kits issued by non-drug treatment services. Of these, 68% (1,001) were supplied by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD).
• 425 kits were issued by prisons in Scotland.
• 959 kits were dispensed by community pharmacies.
• 270 THN kits were provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
• A total of 467 kits were supplied by peers (274 in the community and 193 in prisons).

At the end of 2023/24 Quarter 4, the 'reach' of the NNP (percentage of people at risk of opioid overdose who have been supplied with THN) was estimated to be 76.2%, an increase of 1.4 percentage points compared to 2023/24 Quarter 3 (74.8%).

A total of 30,250 THN kits were supplied in financial year 2023/24, the highest annual total since the beginning of the NNP.

Chart showing the number of take-home naloxone kits supplied for each financial quarter from April to June 2011 up to January to March 2024. It shows that there has been an increase over time in Naloxone provision, with a particularly large increase within quarter 1 of financial year 2020/21 and quarters 2 and 3 of financial year 2021/22.

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Number of Take-Home Naloxone kits supplied by financial year and quarter

Background

The overall aim of Scotland’s NNP is to prevent fatal opioid overdoses. Administration of naloxone provides time for emergency services to arrive and for further treatment to be given. Following suitable training, THN kits are issued to people at risk of opioid overdose, their friends and family and service workers in order to help prevent overdose deaths. For more information on the background of the NNP and for a definition of 'reach', see Appendix 1 in the National Naloxone Programme Scotland Official Statistics report.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be 3 December 2024.