Needle and Syringe Services Assessment - Case Study Example

Name: Course name: Course instructor: Date of submission: Provide Needle and Syringe Services Assessment A Needle and Syringe Programme, which is also known as Syringe-Exchange Programme is a social policy hinged on the idea of reduction of harm where users of drugs can get hypodermic needles and the necessary equipments for injection at low or no cost. These programmes are referred to as exchanges because some need exchanging used up needles for the same number of new needles. The main objective of these services is to reduce the damage associated with sharing of needles and using contaminated injecting equipments by these drug users. A review that was carried out by Norah Palmateer found out that the Needle and Syringe Programme prevents to an extent the transmission of Hepatitis C virus, HIV virus and many other risks that come about with the injection behaviour. This programmes origin can be traced back to 1970s though through informal services that happened separately in different locations. The emergence of AIDS pandemic motivated the need for these services and the rapid adoption that happened all over the world. 1. Why are Needle and Syringe Programmes necessary? These programmes are very vital to public health measure since it involves the safety and the healthy well being of the vulnerable public who cannot afford the necessary safety measures as well as struggling with the addiction especially by the youth. They prevent people from sharing equipments of injection thus minimising the risk of getting infected by diseases such as HIV thus reducing the spread. In Australia, there are benefits seen already because the HIV infection rate is very low among the drug users and the whole community in general. This is contrary to other countries like in the United States where the programmes were not initiated in time thus propagating the HIV virus to the wider community starting from sharing the injecting equipment to sexual contact in the community. 2. Why are people who inject drugs provided with sterile needles and syringes? The authorities such as the government and even the non-governmental organizations ensure that these people who inject themselves with drugs rare provided with needles and syringes that are sterilized so as to prevent the HIV virus transmission and also infections such as hepatitis C. between 1991 and 2000, the Australian government used over 130 million dollars in this programme just for the safety of its public. The prevention of new infections was estimated to be about 25,000 for HIV and 21,000 for hepatitis C. With the prevention is better than cure policy, the government saved approximately 2.4 to 7.7 billion dollars in treatment costs. This shows clearly that the prevention of these infections has saved more than 20 times the money that could have been used for HIV treatment alone. 3. Are Needle and Syringe Programmes legal? The legislature amended the legislation to allow the needle and syringe programs to be rolled out especially when the government recognized the need to reduce the HIV and hepatitis C infection among the drug users. Each state is mandated to allow all pharmacies and Needle and Syringe Programmes to provide syringes and needles to those who need them especially the youth who use drugs more and cannot afford them easily. All the health services that need to provide these services must be authorised by the Ministry of health or the respective representative of their states. After the approval, they operate only under strict conditions so minimise risks. The big advantage for this programme is that it is not illegal to possess needles and syringes though use of illegal drugs remains an offence in Australia. 4. Is there an age limit for clients at Needle and Syringe Programmes? For the attendants of the Needle and Syringe Programme there is no age limit though the programme employees must counsel the younger attendants and encourage them to always seek treatment and health services since they are still vulnerable to a lot of risks. This said there is though an average age at which drug users commence injecting themselves with drugs. There is therefore need to identify and ensure that the minors who use these needle and syringe services are provided with the equipments. Some states even have it compulsory that minors who use these services are reported to the community services department to ensure that they always use these services. There is need for sensitization of the youth to always use these services while still young to minimise the risks of their infections. 5. Will the distribution of needles and syringes increase injecting drug use? This will not increase the use of drugs among the public because these programmes are only based where the injection of drugs is already commonly occurring. Studies have pointed towards the programme helping in reduction of drug use and not the vice versa. This is because these programmes act as referral point for stating the treatment for the addicted people therefore getting hold on them and starting to counsel them to reduce their drug use. In Australia, people who have been using the drugs have remained constant thus showing that the establishment of these programmes does not encourage the use of drugs. In 2004 studies even showed that the population using these services reduced. A study by the World health organization found out that Needle and Syringe Programmes do not encourage injection of drugs. The users of drugs who start using these programmes are likely to stop injecting these drugs than those who do not seek these services. 6. Why do some drug users throw their needles and syringes away? Drug user sometimes throw these syringes and needs away because they fear the police who can use them as exhibits for drug use. Others are the young drug users who dispose these equipments in toilets because they are poor and homeless and usually inject the drugs as soon as they buy them. This is said that they though dispose these used equipment safely to prevent incidences. Hotspot in other cities of the world also lead to this disposal because that is where they meet and deal in drugs thus simply dropping off the used equipment leading to incidences. The workers of these programmes often visit these hotspots to collect and discard safely the used needles and syringes. 7. Do Needle and Syringe Programmes increase discarding of used needles and syringes? Researches carried out in Australia found out that there is no rise in the discarding of used injecting equipment and syringes following the introduction of these needles and syringe programmes. These studies were repeated all over the world and the result was the same. Actually the programme helps to reduce the cases of inappropriately discarded needles and syringes by sensitizing the users to use bins and containers so that they do not dispose off the used equipment carelessly. The programme also accepts needles and syringes from the public whether they are their clients or not thus improving the appropriate disposal of these injection equipment including the diabetic people. 8. What is the government doing about discarded needles and syringes? This varies in every state in Australia where many states have used the partnership approach to this issue. Strategies have been implemented to reduce the instances of discarded needles and syringes. The programme workers visit the hotspots to collect the poorly discarded injecting equipment. They also respond to phone calls from the public so that they can collect the discarded equipment in those areas. The phone lines operate on 24 hours to help clean up the syringes and needles that have been discarded unsafely. All states also have management of litter law where discarding needles and syringes in public areas is an offence. Cities such as Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney have initiated plans to manage improperly disposed needles and syringes by increasing the number of disposal containers and bins where drug use is rampant. 9. Mr. Thompson has found a needle and syringe near his home, what should he do? Mr. Thompson should first contact the Needle clean up hotline or the local authorities of the area. They will arrange for the needles clean up within two days. There is a booklet by the local councils which contains all the contact to reach while in this kind of situation. Mr. Thompson can also decide to find a hard plastic container with a crew top and dispose it off in the disposal bin. He should at all times keep away from the sharp ends of the needle. He should put the syringe with the sharp end first. He should then call the council official to make arrangements for the container to be taken away. He can also put the container with the needle and syringe in a disposal bin if there is one nearby Mr. Thompson. 10. Where can Mr. Thompson find more information about Needle and Syringe Programmes, drugs and alcohol related issues? At the back of a booklet titled Needle and Syringe: review of the evidence, there is a list of organizations and services that offer these programmes and information on the needles and syringe services. They even offer more information of drugs and alcohol issues. It is really detailed and will surely help Mr. Thompson if he needs more information on these services. Contacts such as Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council, Association for Prevention and Harm Reduction Programs Australia (Anex), Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL), Family Drug Support (FDS), SHARPS Hotline, Needle Clean Up Hotline. These organizations will help Mr. Thompson to find more information whenever he needs these services for syringes and needles. Contacting the local authority is also an option because they will be in a position to direct Mr. Thompson to the appropriate places to acquire more information. There have been questions whether the introduction of harm minimization and exchanges of needles in Australia will reduce the prevention and new drug cases. There have been claims that this programme has escalated the heroin user’s numbers and deaths that are linked to heroin. The prevention proponents therefore challenge the effectiveness of this programme but the proponents of the same programme have the scientific backing that found out that many lives have been saved by needle and syringes programme as wouldn’t have been by just accentuating the prevention without offering the alternatives for the already addicted. Works Cited Barkham, P. "Australia opens first heroin injecting room." The Guardian. 8 May 2001 Day, Carolyn; Louisa Degenhardt, Stuart Gilmour, Wayne Hall. "Effects of reduction in heroin supply on injecting drug use: analysis of data from needle and syringe programs". BMJ (British Medical Journal). August 2004, 329 Fisher DG and Fenaughty AM, C. "Needle exchange and injection drug use frequency: A randomized clinical trial". Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome June 2003, 33 Read More