The British Government has awarded 12 projects in a share of £5 million to reduce rates of fatal drug overdoses which is part of Vaccine Taskforce style approach to tackle health challenges.
This was disclosed by the Department for Health and Social Care, and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on Monday while the Technology to support those in need and contribute towards Prime Minister’s priority to cut waiting lists
Stated further that these projects will look at how AI and other innovative technologies can detect overdoses to alert healthcare professionals, family, local communities to provide emergency lifesaving support to people who use drugs.
It added that people at risk of drug deaths could be saved by overdose detecting artificial intelligence or antidote dispensing drones after the government awarded a share of £5 million to projects aimed at tackling fatal overdoses.
Responding to this development, the Minister of State for Health, Will Quince said: “Drug use has a devastating impact on people’s health, their families and their livelihoods and every year over 4000 people in the UK die from an avoidable drug overdose.
“We want to stop people taking these substances and support them to recover from their addictions, while preventing those most at risk from dying from overdoses.
“This fund forms part of our healthcare mission programme as we take a Vaccine Taskforce style approach to some of the biggest challenges facing our society today, backed by over £200 million”.
As part of the Reducing Drug Deaths Innovation Challenge which aims to reduce drug related deaths across the UK, Office for Life Sciences is investing in 12 promising projects to develop technologies aimed at improving detection, response, or intervention in potential drug related deaths.
It supports the Addiction Mission, one of the government’s healthcare missions targeting the biggest healthcare challenges, including through funding innovative research into improved treatments and life-saving technologies to accelerate their development and rollout.
Building on the Vaccine Taskforce model which led to one of the most successful vaccine roll outs in the world and ensured millions got a COVID-19 jab, the government will continue to harness world-leading research expertise, remove unnecessary bureaucracy, strengthen partnerships and support the new healthcare challenges.
More widely, funding will help the Prime Minister’s objective to improve urgent and emergency care and increase the resources available to healthcare professionals to treat drug overdoses.
This challenge is being run by Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office, who have invested £500,000 of funding, in partnership with the Office for Life Sciences who have invested the remaining £4.5 million of the funding. NHS Fife will be leading on the programme management for this innovation challenge.
The competition has been designed in close consultation with the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to increase the potential for uptake use of these life-saving innovations in all parts of the UK. All UK nations are represented as either applicants or collaborators who are leading the successfully funded projects.
The central objective of this competition is to develop innovative technologies that help to reduce drug related deaths and harm across the whole of the UK and help people who use drugs and their support networks to work together to save lives.
This will support in delivering on the UK’s Drug Strategy, From Harm to Hope, and Scottish Government’s National Mission on Drugs. In January 2021, Scottish Government announced a National Mission on Drugs.
The aim of the National Mission is to reduce drug deaths and improve the lives of those impacted by drugs in a programme of work supported by the Drug Deaths Taskforce and National Mission on Drugs plan.
The demand signalling work of the CSO Innovation Team based upon the Care and Wellbeing Programme, identified tackling drugs related deaths as a key priority area for innovation in NHS Scotland.