Theme: Models of Care Year: 2024
Background: During 2023, 65 deaths across England were confirmed as resulting from illicit drugs adulterated with new synthetic opioids (NSO) – predominantly nitazenes. Sixty-five more deaths are currently awaiting a coroners’ verdict.
Change Grow Live (CGL) provides over a third of all treatment services in England; with over 63,000 people in structured treatment.
Description of intervention: NSO monitoring alerts increased early 2023. In June, over 30 deaths were reported among people accessing CGL drug treatment services. A Critical Incident Task and Finish Group swiftly developed an NSO strategy to support services nationally. A phased approach for targeting support to services was implemented: Step 1 for locations where there are no confirmed NSOs; Step 2 for locations where NSOs are suspected and reliable evidence of their presence; Step 3 where NSOs are confirmed in the area. The response included provision of accessible and accurate safety advice, increased harm reduction interventions and same day access to prescribing with a goal of accessing more people into the safety of medication assisted treatment.
Effectiveness: By introducing the NSO guidance and stress testing this in live situations where NSOs have been an issue, our services are now better prepared for an increase in people seeking treatment as a predicted heroin drought materializes in 2024. Nitazene self-testing kits have recently been introduced, with over 400 issued in the first month of introducing them. We will report on the impact of this work as it becomes established.
Conclusion and next steps: Given changes in Afghan supply routes, the NSO situation is likely to worsen. It is therefore crucial to share harm reduction strategies across the UK and globally. Whilst monitoring the changing drug markets, we continue to engage people at risk in treatment and work with pharmaceutical companies to further develop point of care testing of drugs.