Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner is calling for urgent action to make life‑saving overdose medication more available in Fleet to help prevent deaths from powerful synthetic opioids. Donna Jones, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, wants to see naloxone distributed through community groups and local pharmacies as well as in clinical settings.
The push follows reports of rising drug activity in North Hampshire, where high‑potency synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and nitazenes have become more common. Naloxone — commonly supplied as a nasal spray (and also available in injectable forms) — can quickly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. As Jones put it in January 2026: “Naloxone is to an overdose what a defibrillator is to a heart attack.”
Legislation that came into force on 2 December 2024 expanded the list of organisations and emergency professionals able to supply take‑home naloxone (and enabled police forces to buy and carry it). The PCC says the community‑level rollout in the Hart district has been too slow, and she is pressing for faster implementation of the registration route that would allow non‑clinical community groups to supply take‑home naloxone.
Her proposal includes installing publicly accessible, defibrillator‑style naloxone boxes in Fleet town centre and offering simple training for families and local business owners so they can use the kits if needed.
Families in Fleet can already get help and training from Inclusion Recovery Hampshire via its Aldershot Hub, which covers Fleet and Yateley. Recent Hampshire Constabulary operations in North Hampshire — including a November 2025 multi‑force operation that led to multiple arrests and vehicle seizures — have underlined local concerns about increasingly potent drugs.
Hart District Council, identified in planning discussions as a key partner for siting public access boxes, is examining how it could support the proposal. If progressed and funded, residents could see naloxone made available at select pharmacies on Fleet High Street by mid‑2026.
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