Drug Overdose Prevention Education
One of the biggest changes that we have seen this year is that finally naloxone will be much more widely and easily available to the people who need it the most!
Nationally, naloxone is available through pharmacies for free and without a prescription and in Victoria, Needle and Syringe Program (NSP) workers may supply naloxone and train people in how and when to use it.
"Gone are the days of showing people how easy it is to use, telling them how important it is that they carry it but then telling them that they need to go somewhere else to collect it. Or even worse, that they need to see a GP to get a script before they can have it."
It is such good news for our community and it’s a big weight off our shoulders because for a long time HRVic was the only organisation able to regularly supply naloxone to people who use drugs. In the last few years more services have been funded to do this, with a voucher system.
Making our training available online and working with chemists to ensure access has been great but we knew that there were still many people missing out.
Last year, almost 30% of those who took part in our online training were in a rural or regional area. Removing the obstacles and making naloxone easier to access for people no matter where they are located is what we should all be aiming for.
It's important we remember that even though it’s simple for many people to access sterile injecting equipment and naloxone, that stigma and discrimination still prevents some of us from being able to access these services that provide them.
For some of us, anonymity is paramount so we will continue with regular online peer-delivered training opportunities.
Have you participated in HRVic's DOPE Online Naloxone Training before?
Yes. Thank you!
No - but I definitely will asap!
Write an answer
