Drug that brings overdose victims back from the dead now free at Wonthaggi

A VENDING machine outside Wonthaggi Hospital’s emergency department now holds free doses of the drug touted for bringing opioid overdose victims back from the dead.

Naloxone became a household name in North America as Narcan during an opioid epidemic in which opioids were involved in more than 80,000 overdose deaths in the United States in 2021 alone.

The Wonthaggi machine is one of 20 the state government is trialling across Victoria to give people free access to naloxone day or night without a prescription or a trip to the pharmacy.

Boxes of Nyxoid nasal spray already fill its shelves, but the Department of Health has not confirmed when the machine will be switched on or whether it chose Wonthaggi because of high rates of opioid use or overdoses in the area.

“Locations are carefully chosen to ensure they have the greatest health benefit while being appropriate for the surrounding area,” a Department of Health spokesperson told The Sentinel-Times.

“These machines provide free, 24/7 access to naloxone and help reduce barriers such as stigma and limited opening hours.

“Every overdose is a tragedy, and improving access to naloxone can help save lives.”

The department’s website said machines would go to locations with high drug harms across 10 metropolitan and 10 regional and rural sites, with the trial running until June 2027 as part of the state government’s $95.11 million Statewide Action Plan.

Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt named Bass Coast among the trial areas on June 1 when she launched Australia’s first naloxone dispensing machine outside the emergency and trauma centre at The Alfred in Melbourne, which Bayside Health also runs.

Ms Stitt later told State Parliament the Alfred machine had dispensed 60 units in its first days, with six in 10 transactions made outside business hours and more than 30 people accessing naloxone for the first time.

Lakes Entrance and Morwell are among the other regional sites, while Bass Coast was one of seven areas where the state government said locations would be announced later.

North America’s opioid crisis turned the antidote from an ambulance staple into standard kit for police officers, firefighters and other first responders across the United States.

A surge in use of the synthetic opioid fentanyl has made naloxone more vital than ever, with the drug about 50 times stronger than heroin and some overdoses needing more than one dose of the antidote to reverse.

Fentanyl is cheap to make and so potent that dealers cut it into heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and fake prescription pills to stretch their supply and boost profits, leaving many users of recreational drugs unaware they have taken it at all.

Naloxone works by blocking the opioid receptors in the brain to reverse an overdose within minutes and restore the person’s breathing, whether the cause is heroin, prescription painkillers or synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

The state government said naloxone was non-addictive, could not be misused and was safe to give even when it was unclear whether someone had taken opioids, although it does nothing to reverse an overdose from alcohol, methamphetamine or other non-opioid drugs.

Opioid overdoses are Victoria’s leading cause of drug-related death and claim almost 400 lives in the state each year.

Coroners have also linked nitazenes, a group of synthetic opioids that can be stronger than fentanyl and may need extra doses of naloxone to reverse, to at least 16 Victorian deaths since 2021.

The state government confirmed in a media release sent on Tuesday that Wonthaggi Hospital was one of four more sites to have a machine installed.

Corio Community Health Centre, University Hospital Geelong and Peninsula University Hospital in Frankston received the other three.

Three more were being installed on Tuesday at cohealth Footscray, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Dandenong Hospital to take the total to 17 across the state.

Gippsland Lakes Complete Health and Latrobe Community Health Service already hosted machines.

The state government said the remaining three locations in the City of Yarra and the City of Melbourne would be confirmed in the coming weeks.

It said the machines operate 24 hours a day but did not say why Wonthaggi was chosen.

“Free naloxone, available around the clock, means anyone can step in during an overdose and buy precious time until emergency help arrives,” Ms Stitt said.

From Tuesday hospital emergency departments and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations could also join Victoria’s Take-Home Naloxone Program.

Needle and Syringe Programs, Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals and the Victorian Pill Testing Service already supplied free naloxone.

Each box from the machine holds two single-dose nasal sprays with step-by-step instructions, and the packaging advises giving the second dose if the person has not improved within two to three minutes.

Naloxone only works for a short time and an overdose can return once it wears off, so anyone who uses it should call 000 and stay with the person until help arrives.

Signs that someone may be overdosing include unconsciousness, vomiting, choking or gurgling sounds, slowed or stopped breathing, a limp body and purple or blue lips or fingernails.

More information on free naloxone is available at betterhealth.vic.gov.au/free-naloxone.