Scottish Drugs Forum
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Shortages preventing Scottish needle exchange agencies from taking advantage of new laws in injecting equipment
9 March 2004
DRUG agencies in Scotland don’t have enough money to take advantage of changes in drugs law aimed at curbing the spread of bloodborne viruses among injecting drug users, according to a new survey carried out by Scottish Drugs Forum.
Lack of training and clarity in administrative arrangements is also hampering efforts to offer injecting users the wider range of paraphernalia which has been made available since a relaxation in drugs law last year.
From 1 August 2003, drug treatment workers, pharmacists and doctors have been able to supply filters, sterile water and swabs to drug users to help them avoid health risks from dirty equipment.
The changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 removed the risk of prosecution to treatment workers and doctors who provide equipment to clients and patients for health reasons and covered five types of items - ampoules of water for injection; swabs; utensils for the preparation of a controlled drug (spoons, bowls, cups, dishes); citric acid and filters.
However, a Scottish Drugs Forum survey of 42 services in Scotland has found that although most supply needles, swabs and disposal boxes, fewer than one in three were supplying citric acid and only one respondent offered sterile water – despite widespread wishes to widen the range of equipment on offer.
Almost two-thirds of respondents want to supply sterile water and citric acid and half want to supply stericups and filters.
But the survey revealed that over 40 percent had no budget to meet the additional costs or were worried about getting the necessary funding for the extra range of equipment. One respondent estimated an extra £120,000 would be required locally per annum.
And half said organisational barriers were getting in the way of extending the range of services. These barriers included:
· uncertainty about what could be distributed
· training needs
· lack of clarity surrounding Patient Group Directives for dispensing sterile water for injections
Extra financial help is needed to meet the new pressures, while centralising the ordering and distribution system for paraphernalia and adding paraphernalia to existing “pre-packs” to cut down pharmacy workload are among other measures which would help, according to the needle exchange workers.
Among the SDF’s recommendations for remedial action are that commissioning agencies and lead stakeholders should:
· address the range of organisational and financial problems identified by agencies
· ensure all local services know about the changes to the law
· provide relevant training
· explore alternative methods of sourcing/distributing supplies
James Egan, Head of Customer Services at SDF, said: “Our survey clearly demonstrates the concerns in the field about their ability to use the changes to the law to best effect. There is a need for lead organisations to review their policies and procedures so that needle exchanges can be more effective in tackling the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C.”
Read the Drug Paraphernalia Study final report (opens in new browser window)