Drugs & Alcohol

Give us your feedback on Drug and Alcohol services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Find out more about Drug and Alcohol services within Cambridgeshire.

AMBER DRUG ALERT – For Information

Date: 31st July, 2019

Location of Incident: South Essex

Drug of concern: Not Confirmed

Identified risk: Drug related deaths

Source of information: Public Health, Essex County Council, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council

Alert instigated by: Cambridgeshire/Peterborough Public Health Team

We have received the following information from Essex colleagues Five people have been found dead on Monday and Tuesday in Leigh-on-Sea, Westcliff-on-Sea, Canvey Island and Benfleet, in circumstances which suggest a link to the use of Class A drugs. Post-mortems/toxicology have yet to be carried out to identify which substances were taken by those who died.

In the meantime, it would be worth sharing the following messages with your colleagues and people who use drugs as a reminder of how to reduce the risk of drug related death and how to identify and respond to an overdose.

Drug supplies change, best test first

What’s in your drugs can change frequently and your dealer doesn’t always know what’s in them or how powerful they may be. Best use small amounts to test first. Look out for your mates If possible – use with your mates. Using alone is much more risky as there is no one to look out for you if you overdose.

Look out for the signs of overdose An overdose won’t always look the same but some of the signs to look out for are:

  • Falling unconscious
  • Very light shallow breathing or no breathing
  • Loud raspy ‘snoring’ or gurgling
  • Blue or pale lips or fingertips

Call an ambulance Naloxone – get it, carry it, use it If someone overdoses on opioids act fast – don’t wait to see if they will recover – you could save their life:

  • Remember – call an ambulance immediately
  • check the person is breathing
  • put them in the recovery position – on their side with their head resting on their arm
  • give them naloxone as soon as possible

Getting into drug treatment reduces your risk of dying from an overdose. For information, support and advice contact local Cambridgeshire and Peterborough services below.

Cambridgeshire CGL (Adults over 18yrs) 0300 5550101

CASUS (young people) 01480 445316

Peterborough ASPIRE (all ages) 01733 895624

Services that can assist with Alcohol and Drug related problems

Keep Your Head is a one stop shop for information on mental health and wellbeing in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It can help you to find local services and get tips on ways to improve your own wellbeing, and how to look out for others.

The site has been developed through a collaboration between Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group, Cambridgeshire County Council, Peterborough City Council, and many voluntary sector partners including the SUN Network and Lifecraft.

Apps available from the Play Store

Just for Today NA

Miranda Davis

Drug Addiction

Smith Blessing