NHS Grampian is urging everyone who holds Naloxone equipment to check their kit, following a warning from manufacturers. Naloxone kits should include two needles; however, it has emerged some kits in France contain only one – or no – needles. The brand affected is known as Prenoxad. 

John Mooney, Consultant in Public Health, said: “This issue hasn’t been reported in the UK so far. However, the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has issued a warning, and this is a good opportunity for anyone trained to administer Naloxone to make sure they have the right supplies. 

“I must stress to any kit owners that they should NOT break the seal on their kit. You can check whether your kit has two needles by holding it up to a light source. You should see two dark patches - the wrapping of the needles inside. If you can only see one dark patch or none then you should return your naloxone kit to any naloxone supplier, tell them that you are returning it as it does not contain two needles, and ask for a new kit.” 

Naloxone is an emergency medication used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. You do not need to be a trained healthcare professional to administer Naloxone. The majority of community pharmacies in Grampian are able to supply Naloxone, free of charge.  

John added: “I would also encourage anyone who holds a Naloxone kit to check the expiry date on their kit at the same time and return any kits which are out of date. We have the details of the affected batch numbers; there are no concerns about the safety of the Naloxone itself and most kits in these batches will be complete. Carrying out a simple check will give those trained to administer Naloxone extra confidence they have the correct supplies.” 

Details of the Lot Numbers affected, and further advice, are available on the Scottish Drugs Forum website: Naloxone kit may have no needles – check your kit – SDF – Scottish Drugs Forum

This poster (pdf), produced by the Scottish Drugs Forum, explains the process for checking a kit.

The full MHRA alert notice is available to view at: National Patient Safety Alert: Class 4 Medicines Defect Information: Prenoxad 1mg/ml Solution for Injection, Macarthys Laboratories (Aurum Pharmaceuticals Ltd/Ethypharm Group), due to potential missing needles in sealed kits, NatPSA/2022/009/MHRA - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)