Chris Rintoul
Chris Rintoul has 30 years’ experience in working with people who use drugs and with people who experience homelessness, 25+ of those years as a social worker. He has a particular interest and expertise in harm reduction approaches, with 20+ years’ experience in the delivery of harm reduction training to staff working in a wide range of sectors/orgs whose work brings them into contact with substance users. Chris has set up harm reduction services such as outreach and specialist accommodation services. With Cranstoun, Chris has led on the development of it’s naloxone training, injecting equipment provision and response to novel synthetic opioids. He has an interest in the role technology can play in reducing harm, developing the 1st interactive overdose response app in 2012 and now leading on a wearable overdose detection device and alert system, currently in live trial. Along with peers in similar roles within other UK treatment providers, he developed Stayin’ Alive resources in response to the nitazenes threat which emerged in 2023. Chris has written a range of practical resources for frontline workers and people who use substances on nutrition, benzodiazepines, pregabalin, opioids, naloxone, polydrug use and medications management. He has been involved in writing a number of articles:
• Naloxone report (publishing.service.gov.uk) ACMD 2022
• Groin Injecting in Northern Ireland: Views of the Experts by Experience — Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk) QUB 2021
• A rapid assessment of take-home naloxone provision during COVID-19 in Europe - ScienceDirect IJDP 2022
• Reducing Opioid Related Deaths for individuals who are at high risk of death from overdose: A co production study with people housed within prison and hostel accommodation - by Campbell, Anne; Millen, Sharon; Guo, Li; Jordan, Uisce; Taylor Beswick, Amanda; Rintoul, Chris; Diamond, Aisling.
Sessions
Background:
There were 6,620 drug related deaths across the UK in 2023. Many would have been preventable had someone recognised and responded to them.
Objectives:
We wanted to investigate the potential for wearable technology to detect overdose and send assistance to the casualty.
Methods:
In this partnership between Cranstoun, Queens University Belfast (QUB), Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and St Pauls Hostel (SPH), a wearable device was developed to alert staff in the hostel to potential overdoses among the people who live there. Only willing and fully informed participants wear the devices. The hostel is located in the West Midlands region of England.
Commencing in April 2024, Cranstoun funded MMU to provide the devices and alert system to SPH. QUB will evaluate the project across it’s 22 month lifespan.
The devices measure for changes in life-sign indicators such as skin oxygenation and heart rate. When a change is detected the device sends an alert which informs staff in SPH that a particular wearer of the device may be having an overdose.
The devices incorporate machine learning (AI) thereby making them less prone to false positives or false negatives over time.
Results:
The live phase of the project commenced in January 2025 after extensive testing in situ. We expect to have preliminary results by late spring 2025.
Implications:
This innovative approach is one of several currently being trialled across the UK. If ours is successful it may indicate that there is a role for wearable technology in reducing preventable overdose deaths.
Background:
The UK government stated that at least 321 deaths involved nitazenes to September 2024. These synthetic opioids have contaminated heroin and other drugs. In July 2023 a National Patient Safety Alert was issued after a spike in fatal overdoses occurred in Birmingham, involving nitazenes.
Objectives:
A group of individuals was established from 5 organisations. We wanted to ensure that safety messaging on nitazenes, given by all organisations, was consistent. We aimed to reduce the risk of mixed-messaging.
Methods:
‘Stayin’ Alive’ Plans were developed and disseminated across the services. These focused on the person at risk having more relevant insight into the likely scenario of an overdose than any drugs worker. Therefore, only they could devise a plan which would mitigate their risk. This changed the conversation from ‘Don’t do this, do that’ to ‘What’s your plan to manage the risk?’ Cards were provided, plans recorded and held by the owner of that plan.
Results:
Keyworkers in the member organisations then engaged PWUD to make Stayin’ Alive Plans. This raised the awareness of overdose among all those who were engaged. Around 25,000 individuals across all providers completed plans. It is however more difficult to demonstrate conclusively that these plans have reduced overdoses involving nitazenes.
Implications:
The task of responding to nitazenes provided an impetus to collaborate. When collective wisdom and ideas are shared, this may lead to novel approaches to mitigate risk. Collaboration is likely to remain important in the coming years as the drugs market becomes ever more risky.