GDAS is urging everyone who holds Naloxone equipment to check their kit, following a warning from manufacturers. Naloxone kits should include two needles; however, it has emerged some kits in France contain only one – or no – needles. The brand affected is known as Prenoxad.
“I must stress to any kit owners that they should NOT break the seal on their kit. You can check whether your kit has two needles by holding it up to a light source. You should see two dark patches - the wrapping of the needles inside. If you can only see one dark patch or none then you should return your naloxone kit to any naloxone supplier, tell them that you are returning it as it does not contain two needles, and ask for a new kit.”
Naloxone is an emergency medication used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. You do not need to be a trained healthcare professional to administer Naloxone.
“I would also encourage anyone who holds a Naloxone kit to check the expiry date on their kit at the same time and return any kits which are out of date. We have the details of the affected batch numbers; there are no concerns about the safety of the Naloxone itself and most kits in these batches will be complete. Carrying out a simple check will give those trained to administer Naloxone extra confidence they have the correct supplies.”