Can family lead treatment help those on the verge of serious drug overdoses? A new push in helping to train family members who may be able to make a serious impact in helping those individuals who may have a potentially lethal overdose of heroin is underway in Scotland. If successful, it may be a sustainable alternative to current methods for stopping overdoses.

The method relies on training family members to understand and use Naloxone – a drug which temporarily halts the effects of heroin for around 30 minutes – giving enough time for paramedics to begin treatment if necessary and to help potentially save lives. If done in conjunction with basic life support training, this could save even more lives in the process.

The chairman of the Angus Alcohol and Drugs Partnership, Eric Knox, said: “As part of the response to drug deaths, services in Angus are encouraging people at risk to receive training about how to prevent overdose as well as basic life support information. […]Following training, Naloxone, a potentially life-saving drug, that can temporarily reverse the symptoms of overdose, can also be issued to those most at risk.”

The new training scheme is freely available to those in the Angus area, but, if successful, it is not hard to imagine it being rolled out in other parts of the country, saving countless lives.