HSE Cork project to help people who overdose
A new health service for those who overdose on drugs has been launched on Leeside.
The HSE NAS Alternative Prehospital Pathway (APP) has launched a new programme to provide naloxone, a medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose, directly to people who have overdosed but decline ambulance transport to hospital. Naloxone (pronounced na-LOX-own) is a prescription medication used to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid drugs like heroin, morphine, codeine and methadone as well as synthetic opioids like nitazenes.
The launch came ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on Sunday 31 August.
Led by Dr Daragh Mathews, Emergency Medicine Doctor at Cork University Hospital, the APP team includes a doctor who can provide a naloxone take-home pack, ensuring this medication reaches those most at risk.
In 2024, the HSE supplied 6,944 units of naloxone to services nationwide and trained 2,330 people in overdose awareness and naloxone administration in collaboration with community partners. Naloxone services, including training, are part of an integrated approach to reducing drug harm under the National Drugs Strategy.
“This new service can save lives by getting naloxone into the hands of people who need it most, when it’s needed,” said Dr Daragh Mathews, who also leads the APP project at Cork University Hospital.
He added: “For someone who has just experienced an overdose, even if they choose not to go to hospital, a witness having access to naloxone could mean a vital second chance.”
Prof. Eamon Keenan, National Clinical Lead for HSE Addiction Services said: “I welcome and support this new APP Take Home Naloxone pilot. It will improve access to naloxone for people who use drugs in the community, and this is a key factor in reducing overdose deaths in our society. I congratulate Dr Daragh Mathews on his work to establish this and look forward to the results of the pilot. If successful, this has the potential to be rolled out in other areas.”
If someone experiences an overdose the HSE said naloxone can help to keep a person alive until an ambulance arrives. Naloxone works by displacing opioid molecules from their receptors in the body and brain.