How Police Scotland used naloxone more than 1,300 times

demoduck.co.uk editorial team 2026-08-31 19:17 2 min read

Close up of blue and red police emergency vehicle lights at night.

More than 1,300 doses of naloxone have been administered by Police Scotland officers since the emergency treatment was introduced to the force five years ago. Each use represented an attempt to keep someone alive long enough for professional medical assistance to arrive.

Police Scotland says the deployments have potentially saved many lives. The total does not, however, establish how many deaths were prevented: the force’s announcement does not provide individual outcomes or a year-by-year breakdown.

Naloxone temporarily blocks an opioid overdose

Naloxone is an emergency first-aid treatment that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Police officers carry it as a simple nasal spray, allowing the medication to be absorbed through the nose without an injection.

The treatment temporarily blocks the overdose effects rather than replacing medical care. Its immediate purpose is to buy vital time between an officer finding an unconscious casualty and healthcare professionals arriving to provide further support.

Officers have deployed it during patrols and public call-outs

The programme was introduced with Scottish Government funding. Police Scotland says it became the first UK force to train all officers to administer naloxone, putting the medication within reach during frontline encounters across the country.

Officers have used it after finding unconscious people while on patrol and after members of the public alerted them to an overdose. Those circumstances mean police may be able to begin the emergency response before an ambulance crew reaches the scene.

How Police Scotland used naloxone more than 1,300 times

Five years of use coincide with overdose awareness day

The five-year anniversary fell on International Overdose Awareness Day on 31 August 2026, when Police Scotland recognised the people, families and communities affected by overdoses. The force also placed the programme within Scotland’s wider public-health response to substance addiction.

The Scottish Government says it has invested more than £4 million in widening access to naloxone through emergency services and community pharmacies. Alcohol and Drugs Minister Maree Todd said provision had become more pressing amid an increasingly unpredictable drug supply and the growing prevalence of dangerous synthetic opioids such as nitazenes.

Every deployment sits behind a family’s risk of loss

Chief Superintendent Joanne McEwan acknowledged the pain caused by losing a loved one and the wider harm drugs cause in communities. She said Police Scotland would continue working with healthcare partners and other agencies to reduce drug-related deaths while targeting criminal activity connected with drugs.

Todd thanked officers providing the frontline service and said Police Scotland personnel and other emergency responders would continue carrying naloxone, supported by the necessary training and guidance.

Source: Police Scotland News

Context & actions About this article

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The article preserves Police Scotland’s reported total while distinguishing potential lives saved from confirmed individual outcomes.

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Confirmed that officers administered naloxone more than 1,300 times over five years.
Checked the treatment description and deployment circumstances against the Police Scotland...
Preserved the source’s qualification that the interventions potentially saved lives.
Confirmed the stated Scottish Government investment and the officials named in the announc...

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