Firefighters carrying kits can help save lives
Firefighters in Ayrshire are being offered the chance to carry life-saving drug overdose prevention medication, as part of a new Scottish Government funded project.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) members will be able to volunteer to carry Naloxone - a nasal spray which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Those who sign up will undergo training to carry and deploy Naloxone, as well as recognising the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose. Police and ambulance workers already carry the life-saving medicine. The £90,000 project funded by the Scottish Government comes after Ayrshire had the second highest drug deaths per population in Scotland in 2020.
SFRS Group Commander Paul Blackwood, who is the lead for prevention and protection in East, North and South Ayrshire, met with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at Bathgate fire station to speak about the Naloxone kits and show Ms Sturgeon how to administrate the nasal spray. Paul decided to carry Naloxone after a personal tragedy.
He said: “I grew up in Glasgow and I lost my best friend at the age of 19 from a drugs overdose. This traumatic experience has stayed with me and so it was important for me to volunteer to carry Naloxone. I have the kit because I want to be in a position to save someone’s life.”
Ms Sturgeon said: “I want to thank the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for the incredible job they do every day to save lives. SFRS staff regularly interact with the public during operational incidents, prevention and protection work and community engagement and it is reassuring to know that if they come across a situation involving an opioid overdose that volunteers will be
able to administer naloxone while they wait for an ambulance to arrive.
“Naloxone is one of a wide range of measures being used to address the public health emergency of drugs deaths, but it plays an important role and allows those administering the kits to connect people who use drugs and their families with appropriate local services.”