Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether availability of the drug Naloxone, under the new regulations to be introduced on 1 October 2015, will be restricted to those categorised in current Public Health England guidance.
The Public Health England guidance provides examples of potential recipients for supply of naloxone locally but does not restrict the scope of the new regulations. The new regulations will widen access to naloxone so that any person employed or engaged in the provision of drug treatment services can supply naloxone to others in the course of their lawful drugs work, for the purposes of naloxone being available to save life in emergency.
The regulations define drug treatment services as those provided by, on behalf of, or under arrangements made by, one of the following bodies: (a) an NHS body; (b) a local authority; (c) Public Health England; or (d) Public Health Agency.