'All door staff should carry life-saving drug'

Charlie Smith says all security staff should carry naloxone

A door supervisor has said a life-saving drug should be carried as standard by security staff, after he helped a man during an overdose.

Charlie Smith used a syringe filled with naloxone to reverse the effects of a drug overdose while working in Sheffield earlier this year.

The 24-year-old said he was "terrified" when the man collapsed in a doorway on Division Street - but he was able to administer the drug thanks to training.

He said: "I had someone there who I needed to help. Now I've used it for the first time, it's given me more confidence."

Door supervisors working for Professional Security were given the training by Sheffield-based drug and alcohol support service Likewise, which has also taught police officers how to administer the drug.

It can help buy time for the patient, who can regain consciousness while they wait for an ambulance to arrive.

Naloxone reverses overdoses from opioids like heroin, morphine, methadone, fentanyl and nitazenes

"I either had to start doing CPR because he wasn't breathing, or I gave this a chance," Mr Smith said.

His training taught him how to identify a possible overdose and how to administer the drug, with Likewise giving the staff members naloxone in nasal and injection form.

"I'd love to see this be a standard," he said.

"We had it with first aid where all doormen need it to get their licence - making sure all doormen are all prepared and ready to use it."

Naloxone reverses overdoses from opioids like heroin, morphine, methadone, fentanyl and nitazenes.

It blocks the receptors in the brain that opiates would bind to, preventing them from having dangerous effects such as slowing down or stopping the user's breathing.

Lynsay Wilson, who helped deliver the training with Likewise, said the drug was easy to administer and could have a big impact.

"There are potent, synthetic opioids being found in a whole range of party drugs," she said.

"Sheffield is a huge city with a student population, and with students comes partying, some may be experimenting with drugs.

"You never know what's in the supply nowadays, so it could be that potentially someone who's never taken an opioid in their life has their life saved by naloxone."

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