Drug-related deaths (DRDs) are at their highest level since records began in 1993 with 3,756 DRDs in England and Wales last year, 53% of which related to opiate use. Almost a third of all deaths from overdose in 2016 in Europe happened in the UK.
This constitutes a public health and humanitarian crisis which must be addressed urgently. DRDs are now an indicator in the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) in England.
The Harm Reduction Group wrote to the 40 local authorities with worse than benchmarked DRD rates, asking how they were responding to DRDs in their area. 35 local authorities responded.
Drug-related deaths in England: local authorities and how they are responding | National AIDS Trust | Jan 2019
