WA police officers have added a new lifesaving tool to their kit, in the form of the rapid opioid overdose treatment, naloxone.
The move comes after a year-long trial, from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022, which saw 365 WA Officers become the first police in the southern hemisphere to carry naloxone and during that time, the nasal spray was successfully used to treat 20 drug-affected people in the Perth and Bunbury regions.
More than 500 WA Police Officers have now been trained to administer the fast-acting medication.
Police Minister Paul Papalia said that carrying naloxone would also provide additional safety for officers should they encounter highly toxic opioids during the search for, or processing of illicit drugs, many of which could be unintentionally inhaled or absorbed through the skin, posing significant risk of accidental exposure.
“Naloxone is an important tool for frontline officers,” he said. “It means police can take lifesaving action when they’re the first responders to an opioid overdose and dozens of West Australians have already benefited from this program, a number that will increase as more and more police start to carry the nasal spray.
He said the state-wide rollout was nation leading, with NSW and SA authorities having approached the WA Police Force for advice as they consider similar programs.
Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Region, Mr Brad Royce, said the force went into this trial knowing that officers were often first on scene of medical emergencies.
“This trial has proven that providing police officers with naloxone to administer in certain circumstances contributes to improved health outcomes,” he said.
The RACGP has also welcomed WA’s decision to equip police with the intranasal spray, and highlighted that naloxone was already provided free under the Take Home Naloxone program, available from a range of locations including participating pharmacies, alcohol and drug treatment centres, custodial release programs, and needle and syringe programs.
RACGP Alcohol and Other Drug spokesperson, Dr Hester Wilson, said that during the national Take Home Naloxone pilot, which ran from in 2021, naloxone was used at least 1649 times to reverse an opioid overdose.
“This drug can save lives on the brink of overdose, so putting naloxone into the hands of law enforcement is just what the doctor ordered,” she said.
“The challenge now is fighting stigma, educating people who use opioids as well as their family members, friends and loved ones, and getting it into the hands of more people in the community, including our police forces.
“We have no time to lose. A report early this year found that there were 1788 drug-induced deaths Australia-wide in 2021, which is the equivalent of five a day. Every person’s life matters, it’s as simple as that.”