Rhys Ash, our non-fatal opiate overdose pathway practitioner, has many years of experience in substance misuse prevention and reducing harm, and hopes to use his wealth of knowledge in his new role. He said: “Our primary goal is to ensure there is a robust referral process in place and a notification system that alerts local drug authorities and drug and alcohol services. Statistically one of the main concerns is that most cases of fatal opiate overdoses have experienced previous non-fatal incidents.”

He added: “My role is designed to ensure the number of people sadly passing away is significantly reduced and that drug and alcohol services can be much more aware of anyone who has overdosed and provide the quality of care needed to attempt to prevent an overdose from reoccurring.”

Craig Hayden, Mental Health Liaison Lead, said: “We worked in partnership with local authority partners, Blackpool Council and The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) to recruit Rhys and we’re pleased to welcome him and his expertise to the team.

“Rhys will be key in collating and analysing data on non-fatal opiate overdoses, highlighting new and emerging risks and sharing data findings with external partners. He’ll also be working with system partners on developing a referral pathway for patients who have overdosed on opiates, reducing avoidable harm and deaths. All of which will help to support this vulnerable cohort of patients.”