Hospitals give out doses of antidote to fight opioid crisis
The project already has 47 hospitals committed to dispensing the overdose antidote to at-risk patients as they are discharged from the emergency department. Author: Associated Press Updated: 9:54 AM CDT May 8, 2021
When doctors write a prescription for the life-saving antidote to an opioid overdose, patients only bother to fill them about 5% of the time.
But what if hospital physicians simply handed a vial of naloxone to the patients they worry are most likely to die, particularly those who were just rushed to the emergency room after overdosing on fentanyl, prescription opioids or heroin?
The Dundee Drugs Commission could be reconvened to review progress on the implementation of its recommendations.
And city partners are optimistic that funding will soon be received to test ways to integrate substance misuse and mental health services and improve 24-hour crisis care.
Dundee City Council’s policy & resources committee will consider a report on the Dundee Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) – Action Plan for Change at its next meeting on Monday February 22.
The Dundee Partnership – made up of representatives from key local public agencies, academic institutions and representatives of the business, voluntary and community sector – published the action plan in 2019 following the report of the commission.