Sunshine Hospital's naloxone trial a lifesaver

Western Health has joined a lifesaving, Australian-first trial – with the installation of a naloxone vending machine at Sunshine Hospital.

Community members will now have free, 24/7 access to naloxone, which is a safe medication that temporarily reverses the effects of opioid overdose.

Sunshine Hospital is one of 20 sites across Victoria taking part in this trial.

The new dispensing machine is stocked with a naloxone nasal spray, which can be administered by anyone – potentially saving the life of somebody who has overdosed on heroin, prescription opioids or synthetic opioids.

Thomas Jones, who is a Nurse Practitioner from the Addiction Medicine Consultation and Liaison service at Sunshine Hospital, says the trial would remove barriers for people accessing this lifesaving medication.

‘Our message is that naloxone saves lives,’ he said.

‘It is easy to use, and should be widely and easily accessible in the community. We want people to feel comfortable accessing it in the same way they would access other first aid or emergency health resources.’

Thomas explained naloxone works by ‘temporarily reversing the effects of opioids by displacing opioids from receptors in the brain’.

The naloxone dispensing machine at Sunshine Hospital is located just next to the Sunshine Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre, off Majorca St.

Thomas said the free dispenser is aimed at ‘anyone who may experience or witness an opioid overdose’.

‘This includes people who use opioids (prescribed or otherwise), as well as family members, friends, carers and community members who may be in a position to respond to an overdose emergency,’ he said.

Thomas said he hoped that normalising access to naloxone could also help reduce the stigma for people seeking help with drug addiction and overdose.

‘Stigma remains one of the biggest barriers preventing people from accessing care and treatment,’ he said.

'Substance use affects people from all backgrounds, yet many people avoid seeking support because they fear judgement or discrimination.

‘At Western Health, we see overdose prevention and harm reduction as core public health responsibilities.’

For more information about the statewide trial, visit the media release on the Premier of Victoria website.