Police officers saved seven lives since rolling out a life-saving drug which can help those who have overdosed on drugs such as heroin.
To date they have trained 418 officers (including police and community support officers) on how to use a nasal spray version of Naloxone, called Nyxoid.
Naloxone works by temporarily reversing the effects of opioid/opiate drugs, if someone has overdosed, by reversing the depression of the central nervous and respiratory systems, potentially helping to prevent a casualty from dying, and buying them crucial time until paramedics arrive.
Trained officers are now voluntarily carrying this medication as part of their standard issue equipment as they carry out their duties.
As part of the roll-out to date, 293 Nyxoid kits have been issued to frontline officers – including neighbourhood PCs and those who respond to 999 calls.
Kits have been funded by Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire Public Health, with each kit containing two sprays as well as harm reduction advice for those treated.
The drug was successfully deployed for the first time a few days after it was introduced in November 2024.
It came after a member of the public attended Radford Road Police Station front counter, on the afternoon of 5 November, and reported someone had overdosed in Gladstone Street.
After a quick-thinking officer used the Nyxoid spray, the patient was taken to hospital.
He discharged himself and was offered pathway into treatment.
Since then, continuing with a phased roll-out of kits and officer training, with the current phase being focused on neighbourhood policing teams and specialist teams that are likely to come into contact with Class A drug users on a regular basis.
Another incident this year saw one of the neighbourhood officers successfully administer Nyxoid to a man who had collapsed in Beastmarket Hill, Nottingham city centre, on 24 June, before paramedics arrived at the scene and took him to hospital.
Detective Inspector Richard Guy, of our drug and substance interventions team, said: “The preservation of life is at the very heart of our officers’ duties.
“In Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, we are facing a significant issue of drug-related deaths relating to drug use.
“The deployment of Naloxone to the front line has come as a result of some excellent partnership work and work being undertaken by the Combating Drugs Partnership.
“I’d also like to thank our public health partners, Change Grow Live, Nottingham Recovery Network, and The Health Shop for collaborating on this project.”
