Ministers urged to continue action on access to life-saving medicines

Ministers have been urged to take further action to make it easier to access a drug that can reverse the effects of opioids such as heroin.

Health Minister Karin Smyth said legislation to expand access to naloxone would “save lives” because more services and professionals would be able to administer it.

But other MPs have pressed the Government to go further, calling for taxi drivers and nightclub staff to be trained in administering the drug and for it to be made available in all pharmacies.

In the House of Commons on Monday, Ms Smyth said naloxone was an “extremely effective antidote” to an opioid overdose and could be administered “quickly and safely by any person in an emergency”.

As MPs debated the Human Medicines (Naloxone and Transfer of Function Amendments) Regulations 2024, Ms Smyth said the current rules limited the reach of life-saving medicines.

She added: “Expanding the statutory framework means more services and professionals will be able to supply the medicine.

“This means easier access for those at risk and their loved ones, and in short, these regulations will save lives.

“We are already seeing the benefits of having non-healthcare professionals, such as police officers, administer naloxone.

“North Yorkshire Police have saved seven lives since April when naloxone was deployed across the force.”

Liberal Democrat MP Bobby Dean, who represents Carshalton and Wallington, said failure to act would create a “national emergency comparable to the fentanyl crisis that gripped the United States” and welcomed the legislation proposed by the Government.

He added: “I would ask the Minister to closely monitor the success of this expansion, listen to organisations working on the ground and keep under review whether it would be practical and desirable to expand access further.

“Some charities have been asking for taxi drivers or nightclub reception staff to potentially have access to it if they want it. And of course that would need to be coupled with the right training to recognise things about the effects of it wearing off within 30 minutes.”

He added: “Going further also means taking a whole systems approach to drug policy, from appropriate sentencing to investment in drug treatment services and other specialist support for users.

“We tried tough talk, we tried the war on drugs in this country, but we ended up with one of the countries with the highest drug-related death rate in Europe.

“So a move like moving the departmental leadership of drugs policy from the Home Office to the Department of Health and Social Care would go a long way towards recognising that ultimately our drugs policy should be about reducing harm and saving lives.”

During the debate, Sian Berry, MP for Brighton Pavilion, called on the Government to “go further if possible”.

She said: “I think one of the simpler ways to achieve this would be to simply make it a drug available over the counter rather than a prescription drug, with some exceptions as is currently the case.

“But I don’t want to say, ‘Don’t do it.’ I want to say, ‘Do it, and then review it and move on, if you can.'”

The motion to approve the draft Human Medicines (Naloxone and Transfer of Function Amendments) Regulations 2024 has been supported by MEPs.