Illicit fentanyls (strong opioids, more potent than heroin, and most likely mixed into heroin) caused a spike in drug related deaths in England in 2017. There is more information on the fentanyls and other potent opioids in appendix A.

Local authorities and their partners in the UK should prepare for potent opioids appearing in their area, particularly in light of recent international experience. Fentanyls are causing significant issues in the USA and Canada. Potent opioids such as fentanyl could be sought by people who use drugs, or might be unwittingly added to street heroin. 

The plan should enable local partners to rapidly:

• understand the scale of the threat and assess the risk
• communicate the threat
• take actions to mitigate the threat

The accompanying spreadsheet shows how much naloxone should be provided in local areas based on different scenarios and explains how the modelling was calculated.