'Massive influx' of ketamine users to A&E as crisis hits Lancashire

That was the warning issued at a Lancashire County Council cabinet meeting, which also heard of the growing popularity of the potentially lethal substance amongst young people.

The discussion came as the authority was handed a £10.6m government grant to fund services designed to reduce the supply and demand for drugs in Lancashire by bolstering the treatment and recovery options available to those who take them.

The cash, for 2025/26, is the largest amount the county council area has received in four years of the nationwide ‘Harm to Hope Plan’ which aims to cut crime associated with drugs – and save the lives of users. It will also be used to help those dependent on alcohol.

Progressive Lancashire opposition group leader Azhar Ali welcomed the funding – and called for a particular focus on ketamine and working to prevent people becoming addicted to it in the first place.

“[There is a] ketamine crisis in places like Burnley…and there is a real need to learn from people who have gone through that experience,” County Cllr Ali said.

Cabinet member for health and wellbeing Daniel Matchett, a mental health nurse by profession, concurred with the concern over ketamine use in Lancashire. The substance is a powerful anaesthetic and can prove fatal, especially when mixed with other drugs.

County Cllr Matchett said: “Some of my frontline work [is] in A&E [and] we’ve got a massive influx of ketamine users. It’s prevalent in festivals and everyday life – young people [are] becoming dependent on ketamine and it’s a very sad thing to see.”

He agreed to meet with County Cllr Ali and other representatives from East Lancashire to discuss the issue.

County Cllr Matchett also praised the organisations that will receive funding from the new grant for already doing some “really good work”.

In Lancashire, the lion’s share of the cash – £8.1m – will go to the Change Grow Live charity to deliver improvements in both drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation, including individual placements.

Five other organisations – Red Rose Recovery, The Well Communities, Lancashire Women, Active Lancashire and The Foxton – will receive grants of between £79,000 and £443,000 for their specialist work.

Meanwhile, in-patient detox placements will be funded to the tune of £430,000 as part of a consortium with neighbouring local authorities.

The overall grant will be used, amongst other things, to increase “peer support” to encourage uptake of the harm reduction services on offer in the county; enhance the out-of-hours support available to recovering addicts, including at weekends, to help sustain them on that journey; and to support those in or at risk of entering the criminal justice system by providing “improved care pathways” to drug treatment services.

KETAMINE RISKS

According to the government’s Talk to Frank drug advisory service, ketamine can:

***increase your heart rate and blood pressure;

***make you confused, agitated, delirious and disconnected from reality.

***make you feel sick, and can cause damage to your short- and long-term memory;

**as a result of the body’s loss of feelings, paralysis of the muscles and the mind’s loss of touch with reality after taking ketamine, leave you vulnerable to hurting yourself or being hurt by others;

***cause serious bladder problems, requiring surgical repair or even removal;

***abdominal pain, sometimes called ‘K cramps’, after long-term use;

***damage to the liver, according to emerging evidence about heavy ketamine use;

***cause flashbacks, memory loss and problems with concentration.

***make existing mental health problems worse and cause depression through long-term use.