A group of Australian health practitioners are calling for expanded access to naloxone in prisons to protect against fatal overdoses.
The Australian Alcohol and Other Drugs Council (AADC) and partner organisations are urging state and territory governments to take action following an uptick this year in fatal opioid overdoses from nitazenes and other synthetic opioids in prisons.
Training should be provided to custodial officers to recognise overdose and administer naloxone, a life-saving medication which can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose, the group stated.
Naloxone should be accessible to custodial officers, they argued, and routinely offered to all people exiting prison.
AADC CEO Melanie Walker pointed out that health staff are not always available to people in prison, and "if we are going to save lives, we must find ways to get naloxone to people in prison when they need it".
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