Injecting Room Numbers Under Fire

Michael D. Robinson, Drug Free Australia


A review of the recent Kings Cross injecting room report by Drug Free Australia has found that the figures produced in the injecting room report cannot support the claim the injecting room saved 6 lives.

Gary Christian, a spokesperson for Drug Free Australia, said, "The most conservative estimates from national statistics on heroin use and overdoses indicate that there is one overdose fatality for every 45,000 injections nationwide. Yet the injecting room supervised 35,000 heroin injections over 18 months and claims to have saved 6 lives! This claim simply cannot be sustained."

"The implications are that; If the injecting room continued at a rate of 35,000 heroin injections every 18 months it would, based on Australian national averages, take almost 2 years and cost $4.6 million (at the estimated $2.4 million per year) before it could claim that it saved just one life."

"There are further concerns about the sheer number of overdoses reported in the injecting room. Recognising that 96% of heroin overdoses nationally are not fatal, the 329 overdoses recorded at the injecting room are alarmingly above national averages."

"Conservative national estimates indicate one overdose for every 1700 heroin injections, but the injecting room has one overdose for every 106. This means that the injecting room has 16 times more overdoses than the rest of the community," said Mr Christian.

"Drug Free Australia is calling on the NSW Government to close the injecting room in favour of expanded drug rehabilitation. The $2.4 million per year needed to run the injecting room would fund more than 100 rehabilitation beds for a full year at the Salvation Army," said Mr Christian. "The injecting room will never decrease the amount of drugs in NSW, but rehabilitation will. Every person off drugs means a decrease in overdoses."