Richmond injecting room to stay open longer

The Victorian Government will not rule out opening more safe injecting rooms across the state, after launching its new purpose-built facility in North Richmond. Do you think it should? HAVE YOUR SAY

THE state government has left the door open to setting up injecting rooms across Victoria, as a purpose-built facility opens in North Richmond.

Mental Health Minister Martin Foley today launched the new facility — larger than the previous temporary building and open longer.

He promised to clean up local streets, as tension mounts among nearby residents lobbying for the centre to be moved.

“We’ve taken action to keep people who use drugs safe from overdose,” Mr Foley said.

“And now we’re turning our attention to cleaning up the streets of North Richmond.”

The new permanent drug injecting room in Richmond.

Inside the new facility.

Mr Foley, who said the evidence overwhelmingly showed the centre was saving lives, would not rule out more centres in Victoria but said any new centres must be recommended by an independent review and would need legislative changes.

The controversial North Richmond centre was opened in June last year.

A coroner last month revealed there had been virtually no reduction in heroin-related deaths around North Richmond in the centre’s first six months of operation.

But Coroner Audrey Jamieson said the trial was essential and six months was not enough time to judge its effect on drug-related harm in the area.

Richmond resident Dora said families were concerned that the entrance of the new facility was about 50 steps from the gates of Richmond West Primary School.

“We are anxious about it because we know what the current short-term injecting room has done for the area,” she said.

“It has brought more people into the area so we are anxious about how this permanent facility might exacerbate the problem.

“We want them to save lives, we support the supervised injecting room but they have put it in the wrong location.

“That is impacting the rest of the community. It is creating a community that is anxious and scared.”

The centre will be open for an extra three hours.

More centres across Victoria haven’t been ruled out.

Residents voted at a series of community meetings earlier this year to lobby for the centre to be moved to a less densely-populated area.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the government had not adequately consulted with locals regarding the centre and its extended hours.

“The minister is down there cutting the ribbon of the injecting room centre but has ignored the concerns of residents for months,” Ms Crozier said.

The new building, open 7am to 9pm on weekdays and 8am to 7pm on weekends, has 20 injecting booths, up from 11 in the former facility.

The government and Yarra City Council have stepped up security patrols and syringe sweeps at the nearby housing estates, alleyways and school.

Injecting room medical director Nico Clark welcomed the change saying “people overdose at anytime of the day”.

In the last 12 months, almost 3000 people have used the facility with 1231 potentially-fatal overdoses managed.

This included people who fell unconscious and had stopped breathing.

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The government said 98 per cent of the drugs used in the facility were heroin, which had been confirmed by urine tests, and said stronger synthetic opioids were not being used.

Former addict John Shaw, 54, said he had attended 12 funerals in seven years and he knew people who had benefited from the centre.

He supported a 24 hour facility but said the new hours were a step in the right direction.

Do you think the Victorian Government should introduce more injecting rooms? Have your say in the comments below.

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