Calls for more support for nurses left to deal with 'trauma' of opioid abuse

13 May 2025, 17:52 | Updated: 14 May 2025, 09:35

Healthcare staff are being left to deal with the “human cost” of abuse of opioids, some of which are more potent than heroin, nurses have warned.

Drugs such as nitazenes and fentanyl carry a higher risk of overdose, with nitazenes causing a spike in drug-related deaths in recent years.

The Government announced measures to crack down on the substances earlier this year, including training Border Force dogs to stop them entering the country.

According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), there have been more than 450 drug-related deaths linked to nitazenes in the UK since June 2023.

Union officials called for more support for nurses “dealing with the trauma of these preventable deaths” at the Royal College of Nursing’s annual congress in Liverpool.

Dawn Marr, a nurse in Aberdeen, told delegates: “Synthetic opioids do not discriminate.

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“They affect people of all ages and all regions, across all demographics.

"The crisis is UK-wide, and that requires a co-ordinated response that brings together nursing professionals of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland."

In January, the Home Office said Border Force dogs would be trained to detect a range of nitazenes and fentanyl to stop them entering the country, with police officers also trained to administer naloxone, a medicine that reverses the effects of opioid overdose.

It also banned xylazine, known as "tranq", a veterinary sedative which is being used in combination with the likes of heroin.

And this week it issued 12 new recommendations to local authorities, including fast-tracked testing of seized drugs where synthetic opioids are suspected and sharing data between coroners, police and health services.

Ms Marr said: "These are necessary steps, but let me ask you this, how many of us have treated someone experiencing opiate overdose?

"How many of us have seen the devastating impact on families and children, on our communities?

"How many of us do prepare to respond to what is increasingly becoming a daily reality in our practice? The truth is that while the UK Government is tracking their own supply, it is nursing staff that are left to deal with the human cost.

"We are the ones that see the faces behind the statistics.

"A young person who overdosed at a party, the middle-aged nurse struggling with chronic pain, the mother who lost her son to a substance she didn't even know was a thing before that."

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RCN members voted to lobby UK governments for a strategy on how nurses can reduce the harms associated with the impact of opioids.

Ms Marr added: "We need targeted education and training for every nurse to recognise and respond to synthetic opioid overdoses swiftly and effectively.

"To advocate for policies that provide tangible support to frontline staff, not just naloxone kits, but ongoing professional development and mental health resources for those dealing with the trauma of these preventable deaths.

"We need to engage in public awareness campaigns and educate our communities about the dangers of synthetic opiates, especially newer substances like nitazenes.

"We need to back research that captures the real impact of this crisis on our healthcare systems, our communities and our profession."

Charles Yates, NCA deputy director, said tackling class A drugs, including synthetic opioids, was a "priority".

"We and our partners, including public health and forensic services, are proactively monitoring for sudden rises in drug-related deaths and will act quickly to reduce threats," he added.

"We're working closely with policing, Border Force and international partners to stem supply of nitazenes and other synthetic opioids to and within the UK."