Dr Nico Clark admits he had no idea how challenging it would be to run the North Richmond safe injecting room, especially the difficulties of getting the local community onside with the project.
Dr Nico Clark worried he would be bored as medical director of Victoria’s first safe injecting room. But within weeks of starting, before the temporary trial site at North Richmond had even opened, he realised delivering the landmark social reform would not be easy.
The safe injecting room has been beset with complaints that it attracted more drug users to the area, increased the number of needles littered in neighbouring inner-suburban streets and worsened anti-social behaviour.“I feel like that doesn’t even need to be said, it’s so obvious to me,” said one mother, whose son attends the primary school and asked not to be named because of her employment.
It has saved an estimated 63 lives, safely managed more than 6300 overdoses by March this year, and lowered the number of overdoses in the neighbourhood that require an ambulance.“We need to take people on a journey, and I think we haven’t done that to the extent that we could have done,” he says. He believes reluctance to engage with the media means good stories of vulnerable people engaging with healthcare — such as treatment for hepatitis C — and other wraparound services thanks to trusted staff have been left untold.acknowledged the facility had not overcome broader amenity challenges, noting public injecting remained a problem and the City of Yarra collects up to 18,000 needles a month.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
AFL round eight live updates: Richmond v West Coast, Geelong v Adelaide, Gold Coast v MelbourneFollow on along for all the live coverage of Saturday’s mega day of footy, starting with Richmond and West Coast at the MCG.
Read more »
Richmond’s old firm must build new dynasty for a changing gameThe rise of Geelong and Collingwood proves the game has changed since Richmond’s premiership years. Can the Tigers evolve to find success again?
Read more »
Man in critical condition after being struck by carA 41-year-old man remains in a critical but stable condition after he was hit by a car on New South Wales' north coast on Friday night.
Read more »
Eighty years but not forgotten: Memorial service to mark fatal plane crash into farmThe crash that killed two men when their aircraft smashed into a farm north of Melbourne still feels “like it was yesterday” to one of those who witnessed it.
Read more »
Emergency lockdown in small Queensland town ends after man arrestedResidents living in a small town in Queensland's north were told to remain indoors due to an ongoing police operation. 9News
Read more »
Shoot-at-sight orders issued for 'extreme cases' in India's Manipur as death toll from ethnic clashes reaches 54The death toll after ethnic clashes in India's remote north-east rises to 54, as authorities issue shoot-at-sight orders in 'extreme cases' in an effort to contain the unrest.
Read more »