Tuesday,30 April 2024


Questions without notice and ministers statements

Medically supervised injecting facilities


Sarah MANSFIELD, Ingrid STITT

Medically supervised injecting facilities

… there is a continuing and clear need to establish a supervised injecting service trial in the City of Melbourne.

His primary recommendation was to establish another medically supervised injecting facility trial. Why did your government choose to ignore the key recommendation of the Lay report by completely ruling out a second medically supervised injecting room?

The government has announced – I announced it with the Premier last week – a significant package of supports, a statewide plan to tackle some of the AOD harms in our community. We know that the CBD has got particular needs, and that is why we have announced a significant package to go to those issues. We will be establishing a dedicated CBD community health hub that will provide wraparound services for those who are struggling with opioid addiction so they can get the support they need and they can actually access appropriate treatment options and break that cycle of addiction but also to connect them into other vital services that they need. We know that in many cases those who are struggling with opioid addiction have also got other issues going on in their lives that require that wraparound support.

Importantly, we have also given a commitment to significantly enhancing our outreach services in the CBD, delivered through a very trusted partner in this space, Cohealth, who will be significantly boosting the number of outreach services so that 365 days of the year there will be teams working with some of the most vulnerable in our community. I am proud that our government has announced that we will establish Victoria’s first hydromorphone trial at that hub.

There can be no rehabilitation if you are dead …

… if you can get, in the event you need, the urgent health care that saves lives … that surely, on any measure, is a better outcome than seeing that death toll go up and up.

Minister, if you stand by the North Richmond site as a life-saving service, how high does the overdose death toll have to get in the CBD for the government to establish a service there?

The reality is that the other great powerful initiative of this service is the number of referrals to other services to help people turn their lives around. What I announced with the Premier last week is a comprehensive statewide action plan which incorporates the North Richmond medically supervised injecting room at its heart.