Patricia has responsibility for alcohol & other drug strategy across Turning Point Scotland which provide services across Scotland including residential stabilisation, assertive outreach and overdose response teams. She welcomes and encourages new approaches and has lots of experience implementing new services and tests of change.

Issue – Near fatal overdose can be an indicator of later fatal overdose. Issues with information sharing and office based services result in no response to people who experience a near fatal overdose, people experiencing these high risk events are not given support.

Setting – Scotland has the highest level of drug related in Europe. This Test of Change took place in a number of areas in Central Scotland.

Project - An evaluation of Overdose Response Teams funded by Scotland’s Drug Deaths Task Force

Aims
• Reduce and prevent drug related deaths caused by fatal overdose
• Provide rapid response to near-fatal overdose which provides harm reduction interventions and advice
• Give a short, focused period of support maintaining contact through assertive outreach, and improve access and engagement to healthcare and support services.
• Target people in localities and communities recognising that most drug related deaths occur when people are at home, alone.
• Improve information and understanding of the extent of near-fatal drug overdose, identify barriers to engagement with services, and inform system change that works for people not services.

Outcome – Based on monitoring data, interviews with individuals using the service, and stakeholders survey:
• The services are saving lives, and increasing Near Fatal Overdose awareness within communities
• Reaching individuals through outreach approach and out of hours discharges from hospital/prisons and in communities
• Helping to connect individuals to services for the first time
• Welfare checks, repeated visits and assertive outreach to help individuals to engage
• Reconnecting to care managers, health services, pharmacies including prompts
• Reconnecting to friends and families, and linking family to support
Helping to link to multiple services e.g. rehab, homeless services, more suitable accommodation

This presentation will share Independent Evaluation results of what made the response successful and key learning.