ICE DELUGE
Drug addicts can’t access treatment as funding dries up
A GOLD Coast drug rehabilitation clinic is only able to help 10 per cent of those who ask for it as it struggles under the weight of an ice epidemic and stagnant funding.
Southport’s Goldbridge Rehabilitation Services says it could triple its residential rehab capacity tomorrow and still not meet the needs of all seeking 24-7 care.
Goldbridge has not had funding for new beds since it opened 30 years ago, but receives more than 4000 calls for help annually, 1000 of which are seeking time at the centre.
But co-CEO Bernice Smith said the clinic could only accommodate about 100 people each year.
Between 2009-10 and 2015-16, the annual rate of methamphetamine-related Queensland hospital admissions increased from 3.9 to 79.9 per 100,000 people. Ms Smith said the prevalence of crystal methamphetamine, known as ice, was driving the demand for the service.
“Ice is easy and it is cheap,” she said.
“At least 50 per cent of the people we see are ice users and it is growing. Funding has stayed the same yet our inquiries for residential care go up every year – funding for more beds needs to have happened yesterday.”
In January, the State Government launched a five-year, $100-million Ice Strategy, which included enforcement and treatment measures, but the Gold Coast clinic is yet to receive a boost. “We could add 10 beds tomorrow and another 10 next week and it still wouldn’t be enough,” Ms Smith said.
Each bed requires $60,000-$70,000 annually to cover accommodation, medical treatment and counselling support.
A YOUNG mother, who shielded her baby while hailstones pelted her body, leaving her bruised and battered, has been recommended for a bravery medal by the Premier.
Fiona Simpson saved her baby girl’s life by shielding her after Thursday’s wild storm blew out her car windows on the D’Aguilar Hwy between Nanango and Kingaroy.
The 23-year-old’s story has since gone viral as she humbly explained how “any mother would have done the same”.
The heroic act caught the attention of Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who said it was an “extraordinary” story.
“Absolutely an extraordinary act of bravery, and I’m quite sure that she should be recommended for a bravery medal,” she said.