Campaign to save lives with overdose prevention centre
The NZ Drug Foundation is urging the Government to green-light the development of Aotearoa’s first overdose prevention centre, allowing those who struggle with substance abuse to take drugs safely, under medical supervision.
The centre, which would be opened in Auckland, would provide a safe space to those in crisis, reduce harm and decrease drugrelated deaths, according to the NZ Drug Foundation.
NZ Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm is asking the Government to support the threeyear pilot of the service.
‘‘At the moment we are turning a blind eye to overdoses and drug harm occurring among our most vulnerable in Auckland, especially those experiencing homelessness,’’ she said.
For the service to be opened, the Government needed to issue the centre a licence, which it had the power to do under the Misuse of Drugs Act, Helm said.
She said the Act was outdated and prevented new health-based initiatives.
The centre would be available to anyone who needed it, but would focus on trying to help those experiencing homelessness, and those who use drugs that cause overdoses in Auckland CBD.
Trained personnel, including registered nurses, peer support workers and security staff, would be on hand.
The centre would also provide basic medical services, naloxone (drugs that can help reverse the effects of opioids), drug checking, as well as showering and laundry facilities, hygiene and sanitary products, and hot drinks.
The budget for the three-year pilot was $2.8 million to $3.8m, Helm said, but did not take into account the savings from reduced ambulance and police call-outs.
Helm said while overdose prevention centres were a new concept for Aotearoa, similar services had been successful abroad.
In Sydney, 1.2 million injections had been supervised since 2001, without any deaths, and in New York, 59 overdoses had been reversed in the first three weeks of opening its prevention centre, she said.
‘‘The results from around the world are quite amazing – overdose prevention centres are saving lives.’’
Synthetic drugs have been recognised as a major public health problem in New Zealand that frequently cause overdoses and deaths.
Between 2016 and 2020 they caused at least 51 deaths and countless overdoses, with Māori disproportionately represented in these statistics, Helm said.
Helm said New Zealand was underprepared for the arrival of the powerful synthetic opiate fentanyl.
‘‘At the moment we have very few overdose prevention measures in place.’’
In June, fentanyl was discovered circulating in the New Zealand drug market for the first time. Thirteen people in Wairarapa were hospitalised or required urgent medical care, after accidentally overdosing.
The NZ Drug Foundation said it received an ‘‘overwhelmingly positive’’ response from those likely to use the centre.
The Green Party and Auckland Central MP Chlo¨e Swarbrick have called on the Government to adopt the proposal. ‘‘It is a good thing that we know who needs help. It is our job to help them, not step over them,’’ Swarbrick said.
The Ministry of Health referred questions around its support for the development of the service to the Minister of Health.
But a spokesperson said there were legal questions that would need to be considered, before a decision could be made regarding the establishment of the centre.
Furthermore, the spokesperson said they had no further plans to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act.
This reporter’s role is Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ On Air.