Source: Radio New Zealand
123RF
Advocates fear hepatitis C and HIV cases may rise in the South Island as some users are reluctant about a new needle exchange service.
A new provider of needle exchange services – Te Waipounamu Collective – took over from the DISC Trust last October.
DISC Trust national harm reduction lead Jason George said he was deeply concerned at the number of people saying they or others were now reusing or sharing needles due to difficulties getting equipment.
“Over the past few months we have heard from the community that an unprecedented wave around the re-use and even sharing is going on,” he said.
However, Te Waipounamu Collective held no such concerns and said the number of people using the service had not dropped since taking over the contracts. Health New Zealand supported that view.
But George, involved with needle exchanges for 20 years, said people were reusing and sharing needles to avoid engaging with the new service.
“It is really, really concerning. We are deeply concerned for the community,” he said.
“We are seeing in the Pacific reports of an HIV outbreak in Fiji among people injecting drugs there. They are our neighbours in the Pacific and we have seasonal workers come to New Zealand.
“Whilst New Zealand has had a low prevalence of HIV in the injecting community, the risk we could suddenly find ourselves dealing with an HIV outbreak is significant.”
Jason George, the national harm reduction lead for DISC Trust, says an increasing number of intravenous drug users are sharing and reusing needles. Rachel Graham / RNZ
Hepatitis C was much more prevalent in the injecting community and any sharing of equipment increased the risk of transmission, he said.
The DISC Trust was no longer funded for needle exchange equipment, but still provided some items from its own money.
People were still using its services in Christchurch and Dunedin, and the trust was keeping note of the reasons given for not moving to the new service, George said.
Almost 450 responses gathered between October and January were analysed and compiled in a report by University of Otago research fellow Dr Geoff Noller.
Noller said key reasons included problems accessing the new locations and a lack of trust in the new providers, particularly in Christchurch.
The new Christchurch location also provided other services, including general health services and drug rehabilitation, which had discouraged some IV drug users, he said.
“You’ve got recovery programmes going on and other people are there for recovery programmes. People are there for other reasons. Whereas at the Roger Wright (needle exchange), Disc Trust, the whole point was to focus on and service the needs of people who inject drugs,” Noller said.
There had been 49 reports of people reusing equipment and eight reports of people saying they or others were sharing needles rather than using the new service, he said.
A Christchurch intravenous drug user, who did not want to be identified, said she had been put off the new location because it also offered other health services and she feared who might see her there.
“The old system was a flawless experience for the clients and in the new one, in comparison, it just doesn’t work well. Now I’m really likely to find they just don’t have what I need.”
On one occasion she felt very uncomfortable when she went to the He Waka Tapu site to return used injecting equipment and there was a gala day with lots of children, the woman said.
“It just didn’t feel right.”
She could now only get reduced supplies of needles from the DISC Trust, and she feared many in the community would be reusing and sharing needles if they were also having trouble getting new equipment.
A Dunedin intravenous drug user, who asked only to be called CJ, said she knew many people who refused to go to the new service because of its indiscreet location in the central city.
She now got equipment for a number of people because she was one of the only people who would go in, and even she does not like going at certain times of day, CJ said.
“Its totally putting them off. So I can only imagine what is happening is that the hep C and HIV diseases will go up because people will be reusing their equipment and sharing their equipment,” she said.
He Waka Tapu was the lead provider for Te Waipounamu Collective. Chief executive Toni Tinirau said they saw plenty of people who loved the new service.
Tinirau accepted some would be reluctant to make a change and the collective had made some tweaks to encourage new visitors to its service, such as improving signage, she said.
There had been no drop in the number of people using the service compared to before the collective took over, Tinirau said.
There had always been some IV drug users reusing or sharing equipment, she said. She did not believe it had increased since the change in provider.
“I think that is something we are all very concerned about and actively working to make sure we have access and equity for all. [Needle exchange options are] spread now through more sites than it was prior. There are more choices to receive free equipment, so you don’t have to come on site.”
Tinirau believed there was reluctance from some users due to it being perceived as a Māori service, but once people came to the site they were reassured all were welcome, she said.
The collective was also looking at other options, including online ordering and delivery, and had just signed a lease for a new central Christchurch dedicated needle exchange site, Tinirau said.
Health New Zealand said it had no concerns about the new sites or the potential for an increase in blood-borne disease and needle-use injuries.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
