'Every pharmacy should supply' overdose drug Naxolone to fight Scotland's crisis, says RPS

The country's drug death rate is nearly three times that of the UK as a whole, and is higher than that reported for any other EU country.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland believes that the nation's pharmacies can play a greater role in reducing harm from drugs.

They say all pharmacists should have access to shared patient records and "clear communication pathways" with other health care professionals involved in the care of people who use drugs.

And it backs the introduction of regulated supervised drug consumption rooms (SDCRs) and says that the use of Heroin Assisted Treatment (HAT) should be expanded.

Over HAT, they believe there should be pharmacist involvement throughout.

They say that pharmacists could advise on the set up and governance of drug consumption rooms but there might not need to be long term involvement other than through outreach work.

On Naxalone, they said: "Naloxone must be available from every community pharmacy and staff trained to use it. Naloxone should also be kept in first aid boxes for emergency use in any clinical setting where people who use drugs attend, and pharmacy teams in those locations be among the staff trained to use it.

"A recent study into take home naloxone programmes found that ownership and carriage of the medicine were lower than desired. Supplying patients with naloxone and impressing upon them the importance of carrying it is fundamental to the success of the programme.

"Community pharmacy teams are ideally placed to make these vital interventions. The UK drug misuse and dependence guidelines state that “it is good practice for the pharmacist to engage the patient in a discussion regarding risk management to ensure all harm reduction options have been addressed (such as overdose awareness and provision of naloxone where available)”. Every community pharmacy team should be able to offer naloxone to anyone they believe to be at risk of an overdose or to anyone who may witness an overdose. This should be offered as part of a package of care which promotes not only the safe use of naloxone but also the importance of carrying it and of naloxone being accessible.

"Pharmacists based in other settings, e.g. specialist services, GP practices, should also be engaging patients in conversations about harm reduction. They should be offering education around naloxone and ensuring patients have a supply."

Laura Wilson, RPS Scotland policy and practice lead, said: “It’s concerning that drug related deaths and hospital admissions continue to rise in Scotland.

Many of these deaths are preventable. Pharmacists, and pharmacy teams, already play a big role in supporting and providing treatment to people who use drugs, as well as offering harm reduction services and advice. The RPS wants to build on this fantastic work by enabling them to do even more to reduce harm from drugs.

“We are calling on the Scottish Government, pharmacy organisations, contractors and members of the profession to work together to reduce harm from drugs and improve the health of people who use drugs. We are also asking for significant resource, expertise and finance to be made available.

“Scotland needs to take action to reduce its high level of drug deaths, and pharmacy is well placed to play a critical role within this.”