Whether it's a concert, festival, club night or comedy gig - we all love getting out and about! We share information on your rights to carry your emergency injection kit, and how to make people aware and understanding of your condition and your needs.
Unfortunately, some venues have prevented people with adrenal insufficiency from taking their injection kits into venues with them. This issue has developed following the rise of needle spiking in nightclubs and other nightlife venues in the UK. Spiking injections, also known as needle spiking, takes place when an unsuspecting person is injected with drugs using a needle, using similar drugs as those used to spike drinks. It affects people with more well-known conditions, such as Diabetes, as well as those with adrenal insufficiency.
However, this doesn’t make it ok to refuse a person with Addison’s or adrenal insufficiency from taking their injection kit into a venue. Being challenged by security can leave you feeling embarrassed, or as a consequence, you may decide not to take your injection kit out with you in the future.
It is recommended by the Clinical Advisory Panel and the Society of Endocrinology to always keep your injection kit with you, as illness or accident can occur at any time. You may not need it, but if you do, you may not survive without it.
So, below we explain a little bit more about how to go out and have a good time, all with your injection kit safely on you the whole time.
Equality Act 2010
Venues, gigs etc are counted as a service provider and therefore have to follow the principles of the Equality Act 2010 with regards to people with disabilities.
Whilst you might not identify as having a disability, people with Addison’s and adrenal insufficiency are covered by the definition of disability. This is because Addison’s and other forms of adrenal insufficiency are (predominantly) life-long conditions, and can seriously affect a person’s ability to do normal day-to-day activities, as well as being fatal if left untreated.
As a result, if a venue does not allow you to take your injection kit in with you, or even your hydrocortisone medication, this would be discriminatory, putting you and other people with Addison’s and adrenal insufficiency at a disadvantage.
How to avoid any issues
Ideally, you don't want to be quoting policy when out trying to have a good time! So, to help ensure you have no issues, here are some simple steps to take:
- Call the venue beforehand to ask about their policy. Let them know you are coming. and if they could notify their security/door staff that you will be attending and carrying necessary sharps. This allows you to answer any questions or queries they may have ahead of attending.
- In advance, get a letter from your doctor or nurse to say you have Addison’s or adrenal insufficiency and need to carry an injection kit with you at all times, so you have this ready to go. Some venues will ask to see this (this is the same letter you would need for airport security).
- Always carry the NHS steroid emergency card and wear medical ID (e.g. bracelet) to substantiate the letter.
- Have your kit clearly labelled and make sure that any extra hydrocortisone tablets are in their packet, not loose. You may find it helpful to use the ADSHG stickers on your kit or have this on your doctor’s letter, to also help emphasise the importance of keeping your kit and tablets with you.
- Enjoy your time out!
We recommend if you are going to a particularly large venue, treat it in the same way as if you were travelling through airport security. You know that you are permitted to carry essential medical equipment, however, for safety reasons, all medication and equipment must be supported by documentation from a relevantly qualified medical professional.
#ShareYourKit
As a charity, we try to raise awareness of injection kits so that the general public see and understand this side of our invisible health condition through our #ShareYourKit campaign. If you’d like to see these examples of how others with Addison’s or adrenal insufficiency identify and safely store their kit, check out our #ShareYourKit Campaign page.
It's important to talk about kits, be confident in using them, educate friends, family and those who support you and of course, to have prepared your own kit. To understand more about what an Emergency Injection kit is, how to inject and how important it is to use the injection during an adrenal crisis, visit our emergency injection kit page.
Provision of a hydrocortisone emergency injection kit is standard practice for the prevention of an acute adrenal crisis, supported by the NICE Guidelines for the Identification and Management of Adrenal Insufficiency, by the ADSHG Clinical Advisory Panel, Society for Endocrinology, and on the NHS page for Addison's disease.
If your GP or Endocrinologist is not prescribing you the medication needed for a kit, please visit the FAQs section of our Emergency Injection page.
Clinicians comment
Lisa Shepherd, ADSHG Medical Trustee and Endocrinology Advanced Nurse Practitioner at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, shares her advice on carrying sharps:
Remember that the venue and staff are probably not aware of your condition, or the importance of your medication and injection kit. They need reassurance that this equipment is for a genuine reason.
Most venues are understanding and accommodating if you contact them with regards to their policy and you have supporting evidence. Some large venues also provide sharp disposal bins, so it's worth checking. You also have the backing of the 2010 Equality Act, if you need more support.
She also emphasises that:
It's important to talk about kits, educate those you spend time with on what to do if you show signs of low cortisol (needing to "updose"), have an adrenal crisis and how to give an emergency injection of hydrocortisone. It doesn’t take very long, and it could save your life.
Regularly check your kit to make sure the vials are in date, requesting replacements for any out-of-date vials.
Use all the resources ADSHG offers to support your independence!
Lisa Shepherd