Scots cops may have saved the lives of exactly 100 people after intervening in overdoses.
The claim arises after the opiate reversal drug Naloxone was used on 104 people, with 100 of them appearing to be on the brink of death.
The results are now being claimed a triumph, despite the Police Federation, which represents officers, refusing to support the rollout of kits in 2019, claiming it was placed inappropriate stresses on officers.
Since then 4,000 nasal spray kits have been distributed in a pilot programme and it is planned that 12,500 officers will soon be trained in using them.
The hundredth incident occurred less than a week before Christmas at a Glasgow hotel, where officers gave the drug to a lifeless woman.
Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie, who has been behind the drive for Naloxone, said: “I’ve spoken to the vast majority of our officers who used Naloxone during the pilot, and the common feedback is how much they welcome having Naloxone as a high profile part of their on-duty equipment.
“They’ve told me of cases where they were convinced the casualty was dead, as the person was cold and their pallor had changed, but they administered Naloxone to give the member of the public the best possible chance - and it rapidly reversed the respiratory suppression and saved their life.”
Ritchie, head of Police Scotland’s drugs strategy, added: “It’s an additional tool to their existing extensive first aid training, and it helps not just the person experiencing a health crisis, but also saves family and friends the heartache of mourning a loved one lost to drugs.”
The lifesaving drug has so far been given to offices in eight divisions, including Ayrshire, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with the rollout set to be completed by early next year.
In three of the 104 incidents of Naloxone use, officers suspected the individual was already dead but gave the treatment as a desperate last chance.
In one case the individual did not regain consciousness and later died in hospital.
But the 100 other cases all resulted in the person being revived, according to logs made by officers.
Naloxone provision was originally blocked by the Scottish Police Federation who claimed it was a stealthy way of lumping extra jobs on officers.
Calum Steele, general secretary of the SPF, sent out a memo to cops warning they could be accused of assault, even if they saved a person’s life.
In 2021 there were 1,330 drug deaths in Scotland, a very small decrease from the previous year, which was the worst on record.
Special Constable Stewart Barclay, a volunteer in Greater Glasgow Division, was on duty on Saturday, 27 March, 2021, when he helped save a man’s life after an overdose.
SPC Barclay said: “I saw the man was in a bad way –he had all the symptoms we’d been told about in training, including pale skin, blue lips, pinpoint pupils and slow, raspy, shallow breathing.
“As we’d been told it was a suspected drug overdose, I decided to administer the Naloxone nasal spray and there was a slight improvement. His breathing regulated a bit, but then he deteriorated.”
The PC then gave a second dose and the man went to hospital where he made a full recovery.
