30 August 2021
Scottish Drugs Forum e-learning course on Overdose Prevention, Intervention and Naloxone has been updated to reflect current policies and practice ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on Tuesday 31 August.
There were a record number of drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2020, with over 1,339 people dying from a drug overdose.
The training, developed by Scottish Drugs Forum’s e-learning team, supports participants to identify an overdose; how best respond to an incident; understand how Naloxone works to reverse opioid overdoses and how to use it.
The course also highlights vital harm reduction techniques for people who use drugs and may be at risk of an overdose.
Various audiences will benefit from the e-learning, including people who come into contact with people who use drugs and are at high risk of overdose including housing workers, social workers, police, mental health workers and the general public. Other people who live and work in areas where there are high rates of overdose deaths may also benefit from the e-learning.
Those requesting Naloxone through Scottish Families Affected by Drugs (SFAD) ‘click and deliver’ service, who have not received previous training can first complete this e-learning to enhance their knowledge of overdose and also administering Naloxone.
Kirsten Horsburgh, Strategy Coordinator for Drug Death Prevention at Scottish Drugs Forum said:
“This e-learning course has been designed to equip anyone who may be in a position to help someone experiencing an overdose, which includes the general public, on recognising the signs of an overdose, how to administer naloxone and important harm reduction messages.
“Being able to recognise the signs of a life-threatening overdose is crucial. Having naloxone available when an overdose occurs is essential. Anyone can be a life-saver.”
Katerina Vourlakos, E-learning Development Officer for Scottish Drugs Forum said:
“The current naloxone e-learning has almost 6,000 people registered on the course, and we expect this figure to double in the next few months.
“This figure means that thousands of people are keen to ensure they have the knowledge to save the life of someone who has overdosed. The course can be used to refresh your knowledge on naloxone, identifying an overdose and most importantly how to respond to an overdose.”
The course will go live on International Overdose Awareness Day. To access it, click here.
Scottish Drugs Forum also offer a number of different online e-learning courses on different topics related to drug use. Click here to find out more.
To find out more about the #StopTheDeaths campaign, go to www.stopthedeaths.com.