‘It seems like the right time to step back’: Head of North Richmond injecting room quits

The medical director at the controversial injecting facility has been praised for “improving the local North Richmond community” after announcing his resignation.

North Richmond injecting rooms medical director Professor Nico Clark has left his role.

The head of the controversial Richmond injecting rooms, Professor Nico Clark, has resigned.

The injecting room, next to Richmond West Primary School, has been a sore point for angry local residents since it openedin June 2018.

Police and ambulance call-outs to the facility have more than doubled in that time.

A review published in March found there were 6000 reported overdoses at the site during its five-year trial.

Under Dr Clark’s leadership, the service ‘has done exactly what it was intended to do’, a statement said.

No one has died from an overdose at the injecting room.

Prof Clark said the possibility of a second service in the CBD meant it was time for him to leave the role.

“It seems like the right time to step back and allow others to continue the work,” he said.

“It was … a privilege to get to know so many of the community of people who used the MSIR, to hear their stories, and to beable to offer much needed support.”

North Richmond Community Health said the recent announcement of the facility becoming a permanent service was a “credit to the hard work of Professor Clark”.

Modelling has suggested the injecting room may have saved up to 63 lives.