Devon & Cornwall Police is joining some other UK police forces in making a life saving overdose treatment drug available to its officers, carried in first aid kits.

Nasal Naloxone temporarily reverses the effects of opioid based drugs and is used when an opioid overdose is suspected and the victim is believed to be aged 18 or over. The drug is currently being used by over half of UK police forces.

Superintendent Robert Youngman said: “Vulnerable people who overdose are by no means doing so out of choice. They may have obtained drugs which contain opiates or synthetic opiates of which they weren’t aware, for instance.

“We are adding Naloxone to emergency first aid kits in our marked Response and Neighbourhood Policing vehicles. The availability of this life-saving drug will help us to safeguard more vulnerable people and because the distribution is across the Force area it will ensure that we are not geographically limited to population dense areas or areas with higher numbers of avoidable drug related deaths.”

The roll out of some 400 kits has started. It includes guidance on triaging a victim in an overdose situation and a card that is given to medics to notify them the Naloxone has been administered.

Superintendent Youngman concluded: “Having Nasal Naloxone readily available to our officers ensures that we are equipped to step in and help people when they need it most. We aren’t replacing paramedics, but Naloxone helps us to stabilise victims while we wait for medics to arrive. Lives will be saved.”

The new First Aid kits will also contain the Ten Second Triage system, developed using learning from the Manchester Arena bombing. Police response officers or ARV (Armed Response Vehicle) crews are often first on the scene of major traumatic incidents.

The kit contains a selection of colour coded wrist snap bands that officers can quickly attach to victims so that when medics arrive on the scene they can prioritise the most urgent cases. The wristbands are of the type which are often used as promotional or reflective high visibility road safety items.