GHB and illicit drugs adding $5m pressure to SA’s public hospitals

A new free and readily available medicine is helping reduce the deadly consequences of drug overdoses as the financial impact of illicit substance use on public hospitals is revealed.

Women are more likely to have GHB in their system than men when presenting at South Australian public hospitals, it can be revealed.

But the trend of ingesting the deadly drug in licenced venues has changed, with users more likely to take it in the home or private residence setting.

The findings are outlined in a toxicology report that surveyed almost 1100 people who presented at four South Australian public hospitals over 15 months.

Of the 374 females who presented at the four public hospitals, about 32 per cent had GHB detected in their system.

It noted “very few patients” across the cohort presenting from licensed venues or ticketed events.

Associate Professor Amy Peacock, whose work through the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, said there was “quite a degree of concern” around GHB use.

The NDARC conducts annual surveys in all Australian capital cities with a sentinel sample of people aged 18 or older who have taken drugs.

The latest survey interviewed 101 people, with an even division in genders.

Professor Peacock said the Adelaide responses were in line with a national trend in the uptick of reported GHB use.

“We are noting in South Australia and in a number of other jurisdictions the prevalence of GHB among some groups of people who use drugs,” she said.

“In our samples in 2023, we saw that one in five we spoke to in both samples reported the use of GHB in the last six months, and some were using at a higher frequency.”

She said GHB was a highly addictive substance that people tended to develop a tolerance for quickly, and therefore often take bigger, or extra, doses.

The study’s results indicated an increase in the use of GHB with other drugs, specifically methamphetamine, but Professor Peacock said ongoing monitoring was needed to establish the link.

She said naloxone, a free and accessible medicine that counters the effects of opioids, was becoming more known and used across South Australia.

“In an ideal world, we would like to see lots more people be aware of naloxone, because it can stabilise, essentially, the impacts of opioids,” she said.

“Half the sample (being aware of its availability) is positive but we always want to see that number increase.”

SA Health, in a statement, said hospital presentations involving illicit drugs could put “significant pressure on emergency departments”.

The department said opioids were “one of the most common drug types involved in drug overdose deaths”, responsible for 65 in South Australia in 2021.

“The most commonly detected drug in the ED environment is alcohol, while the most commonly detected illicit drugs include opioids and methamphetamine,” it said.

“Between July 2022 and June 2023, there were 170 hospitalisations for opioid overdose in South Australian public hospitals,” the department said.

“Naloxone was used to reverse 204 opioid overdoses in South Australia during the same period, which equals almost four lives saved every week.

“Research shows increased naloxone access is expected to reduce the cost associated with opioid-related hospital presentations at South Australia’s public hospitals, estimated at $5.6m annually.”