CASE STUDY

Case Study

Case Study

Introduction

A needle & syringe program (NSP) or syringe exchange program is a social policy based on the philosophy of harm reduction where injecting drug users can obtain hypodermic needles and associated injection equipment at little or no cost. Many programs are called "exchanges" because some require exchanging used needles for an equal number of new needles. Other programs do not have this requirement . The aim of these services is to reduce the damage associated with using unsterile or contaminated injecting equipment.

Case Study

Needle-exchange program at the Bridge College Street, Southampton, and Hants can be traced back to informal activities undertaken during the 1970s, however the idea is likely to have been discovered a number of times in different locations. The first government-approved initiative was undertaken in the early to mid 1980s, with other initiatives following closely. While the initial Dutch program was motivated by concerns regarding an outbreak of hepatitis B, the AIDS pandemic motivated the rapid adoption of these programs around the world. This reflects the pragmatic response to the pandemic undertaken by some governments, and encapsulated in the harm reduction / minimization philosophy. Needle exchanges for drug addicts are not doing enough to protect the public from discarded syringes, senior police officers have warned. They said some exchanges are making "no attempt or effort" to prevent dirty needles being dumped in public places. The Police Superintendents Association said the numbers of discarded needles has become a "menace" in some areas. Every year more than 28 million hypodermic needles are given to drug addicts in the UK. The aim is to prevent injecting drug users from sharing needles and exposing themselves to Hepatitis and the HIV virus. Tests on discarded needles found that 10% carried hepatitis strains B and C. Some needle exchanges where addicts can obtain fresh equipment manage a return rate for old needles of around 70%. However the senior officers, in day to day operational charge of policing, are highly critical of certain exchanges.

The superintendents said the number of needles discarded in public areas is unacceptable. They want the exchanges to do more to ensure potentially contaminated needles are returned for safe disposal. The police attack on exchanges follows a decision to reduce the number of clean needles available to drug addicts in Conwy. Last year 767,000 needles were given to drug users in the north Wales town, drawing community protests over fears more addicts would be attracted to the area. The local health authority said pharmacists' decision to boycott the scheme could lead to widespread infection if one person with HIV came to an area with no exchange. And in July residents of a former pit town called for action to drive out drug users after 3,000 used syringes were found in a disused building. The needles were found in an outbuilding of a derelict house in Victoria Street on the Royal Estate in Warsop, Nottinghamshire. SHARP provides a comprehensive harm reduction service for drug users in ...