Flintshire police carrying life-saving nasal spray for drug overdoses 'right move', according to ex-user
An ex-user turned outreach worker has described the decision for some police in north Wales to carry a life-saving nasal spray which acts as an antidote to a drugs overdose as "the right move".
Elwyn Thomas, known as 'Tommy', is an ex-user but after a life battling addiction, he now works for drugs and alcohol charity Kaleidoscope helping others.
He said Naloxone, the drug contained in the nasal spray, has saved many lives and he himself has used it to save two people in the past.
A six-month pilot scheme has been established in Flintshire where some police officers carry the nasal sprays.
The spray can be used to treat overdoses of drugs including heroin, fentanyl and prescription painkillers.
Tommy has been "involved in the drugs culture" for some 35 years, ever since he was a teenager.
A former user himself, he feels passionately about drug harm reduction. He believes the idea for police officers to carry the Naloxone nasal spray is "fantastic" and a "no-brainer".
Some police officers in Flintshire will now be carrying the nasal spray as part of a pilot scheme.
North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, Arfon Jones, is behind the trial. He is aiming to roll out the initiative across north Wales and hopes officers in other areas will put themselves forward to take part.
Tommy described the scheme as "a fantastic opportunity to provide harm reduction to those on the fringes of society." He is also hopeful it will be rolled out right across Wales.
He said it is "a brave move" but also emphasised that it is "the right move" and that he thinks "all first responders should be armed with this live-saving tool".
One Flintshire officer who has volunteered to carry Naloxone is PC Tom Brownhill. He said that he often finds himself dealing with drug addicts when out on the beat.
He volunteered to take part in the pilot scheme because the nasal spray is "very easy to administer - and hugely effective".
"In the right circumstances it will save life after life," he added.
According to the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, the coronavirus pandemic has only made street drugs "more dangerous".
Arfon Jones said: "The drugs gangs aren't going on furlough and if there is a shortage of heroin they will be peddling even more dangerous varieties of opioid such as fentanyl which is 50 times more powerful than heroin.
"That makes the potential for overdose even greater and even more rapid which is why it is crucial that the first people on the scene are able to do something other than just call an ambulance."
He pointed to Flintshire has having a particular problem with drugs, especially in the Deeside area, which is why the location has been chosen for trialling the initiative.
Flintshire saw 21 deaths due to drugs in the most recent two-year period, from 2016-2018, more than a fifth of the north Wales total.
Police officers there will be the first in Wales to carry the nasal spray.