Edinburgh club and bar staff could be trained to use overdose reversing drug
Nightlife workers in the Capital could be trained in using the life saving medicine naloxone - it's being proposed to the Council.
An Edinburgh Councillor is proposing the Capital's bar staff are trained in using a life saving overdose reversal medicine.
Naloxone is a drug which can be used to temporarily treat the symptoms of an opioid overdose.
It can be delivered in the form of a pre-loaded injection or a nasal spray. It's carried by emergency services and some of the city's taxi drivers have even started utilising it.
SNP councillor Finlay McFarlane is introducing a motion to next week’s Full Council meeting which would investigate requiring pubs and clubs as a condition of their licence to have their bar workers and door staff to undergo basic training to administer Naloxone.
Cllr McFarlane commented:
"This is such a simple step that could make a huge life-saving and life-changing difference."
McFarlane has himself been trained to administer the treatment by the drug safety charity crew 2000.
He said:
"Crew 2000 have been doing incredible work around harm reduction and prevention for many years now and they are clear about how big a gamechanger Naloxone is.
"Having worked as a barman myself, I know that our pubs and clubs can be the frontline when it comes to dealing with people having overdoses.
"There are already licensing conditions requiring bar workers and door staff to have health and safety training to help protect customers. This is just about looking at extending that slightly.
"There's absolutely no harm that you can do with naloxone.
"If you think somebodies had an overdose and it's not opioid, there's no harm you'll do by administering naloxone."
He continued.
"The Scottish Government is taking bold and decisive action to reduce the number of people dying – tragically and unnecessarily – as a result of drug misuse in Scotland. We need to ensure that our city is doing everything it can to play its part in helping those efforts. I hope that councillors from all parties will support this small but vitally important step."
The local authority will go to full council next Thursday (June 30th).