NHS Highland drugs and alcohol recovery service to mark International Overdose Awareness Day
Two events to mark International Overdose Awareness Day will be held in Inverness.
NHS Highland’s drug and alcohol recovery service is holding the events – at Osprey House in Raigmore Avenue and Highland Alcohol and Drug Advice and Support Service (HADASS) in Church Street – from noon-4pm tomorrow.
They are designed to raise awareness of the impact that taking an overdose can have on other people as well as offering information on the range of services available to those in need of support.
Both events will mark and remember people who have died as a result of overdose.
Sarah Harwood, team lead for Osprey House and HADASS, said: “International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held at the end of August each year. The purpose is to raise awareness of overdoses, help reduce the stigma around drug-related deaths and acknowledge the grief experienced by families and friends when they lose a loved one to overdose.”
Staff from the drug and alcohol recovery service will be available at both locations to talk to people.
At the Osprey House event, training sessions are being held from 2pm-4pm for anyone interested in the use of Naloxone, a medication used to block the effects of opioids especially in overdose, using the service’s new product Nyxoid nasal spray.
“This is an opportunity for everyone, over the age of 18, to come together and find out what support we can offer," Ms Harwood said.
“A warm welcome is extended to anyone interested in attending. Overdose can impact anyone but it is really important to know and realise that overdose death is preventable and it is healthy to talk about it.”
A memory tree will be available allowing those who have lost someone as a result of an overdose to leave their own special tributes.
