ALMOST a quarter of the 1.3 million needles provided to drug addicts in Melbourne’s western suburbs last year were used in Brimbank, a report by the HealthWest partnership reveals.
To be released today, the report, No Longer Just An Inner-city Issue, shows supply is not meeting demand in the outer-west, despite 306,300 needles and syringes being handed out last year.
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Calling for a specialised needle and syringe program in Sunshine, the report reveals there has been a 211 per cent increase in demand for needles in the past decade in Brimbank – almost double the western metropolitan region’s average increase of 115 per cent.
But HealthWest project manager James Dunne said the high figures of syringe use could be proof that harm reduction measures were working.
“You can take the positive view that people are injecting in a safe way and communities are safer,” Mr Dunne said.
“People will access drugs whether you supply equipment or not.”
The report recommends that a north-west mobile outreach service include Deer Park and St Albans to improve after-hours access to needles and syringes.
It reveals a “significant need for additional prescribers” of opioid replacement therapies such as methadone in Brimbank, with demand doubling in the past decade.
The report highlighted “significant caseloads” for the 26 per cent of local medical professionals who treat addicts.
Rough estimates suggest there are 176 users to each Brimbank prescriber.
Mr Dunne said that while adequately trained, some GPs chose not to prescribe due to stereotypes about drug addicts and a perceived lack of support.
A Western Health spokesman was unavailable for comment, but WH’s annual report states it has taken a new direction in treating drug dependency.
Western Health plans to introduce a drug and alcohol consultation liaison service, with a focus on reducing harm.
