ACT Chief Minister & Minister for Health Ms Katy Gallagher launched the program on Friday 16 December at the ACT Legislative Assembly.  Additional speakers included Professor Paul Dietze, Burnet Institute, and Ms Nicole Wiggins, Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy.

This important public health program has been developed by the ACT alcohol, tobacco and other drug sector. This initiative has been driven by the Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy (CAHMA) and the multidisciplinary Expanding Naloxone Availability in the ACT (ENAACT) Committee.

About the program

The training will be conducted for opioid users and other potential overdose witnesses over a two-year year period with 200 participants. Eligible participants who successfully complete the training will be prescribed naloxone by a General Practitioner upon reaching a level of competence and assessment.

Topics addressed in the training program will include recognising opioid ovedose; risk factors for opioid overdose and responding to opioid overdose (including resuscitation techniques, calling for an ambulance and administration of naloxone).

An independent evaluation of the program will assess the implementation of the program and participants’ experiences of the program. It will contribute significantly to new knowledge about the implementation of expanded naloxone availability in the ACT context and across Australia.

This program will be rolled out in the ACT beginning in early 2012.  For further information see:

• ACT Overdose Management Program Description, the Expanding Naloxone Availability in the ACT Question and Answer (Q&A) document, further background and research evidence at www.atoda.org.au/policy/naloxone/

Media

There was and continues to be ACT and national media coverage including headline news items on the ABC, television coverage and the front page of Saturday 17 December 2011 Canberra Times.  For a summary of media coverage see the media section at www.atoda.org.au/policy/naloxone/

See also the launch’s Media Brief http://www.atoda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Australias-First-Overdose-Naloxone-Program-Media-Brief-151211.pdf

The Government has committed to return the budget to surplus. It welcomes the community’s input into this process.

Information on the consultation process can be found at the Budget Consultation Website, which provides background information on the state of the Budget:
www.act.gov.au/budgetconsultation

Written submissions can be emailed to: budgetconsultation@act.gov.au
or posted to:
ACT Budget Consultation
Treasury Directorate
GPO Box 158
CANBERRA ACT 2601

For further enquiries please call: 6207 1375. 

Submissions close 24 February 2012.

ATODA has been working with stakeholders for several months to develop its submission.  For further information please contact Carrie Fowlie, Executive Officer, on (02) 6255 4070 or carrie@atoda.org.au

Purpose: To review drug rehabilitation services in the ACT and recommend changes to services to ensure access to the most cost-effective, appropriate, evidence-informed services possible. The ACT Government responded to a recommendation from the Estimates Standing Committee in agreeing to conduct the review and table the report in Legislative Assembly.

The review is to be completed and with the Health Minister by March 2012. The review will be completed within the broader context of the ACT Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Strategy 2010 – 2014.

The primary focus of the review will be community based residential rehabilitation services including:

• 38 beds for men and women operated by the Salvation Army – Canberra Recovery Service
• 44 beds for families and single adults operated by Karralika Programs Inc
• 10 beds for young people up to the age of 17 years operated by the Ted Noffs Foundation
• 10 beds for adults ( combined with withdrawal beds) at Arcadia House operated by DIRECTIONS ACT

Consideration will also be given to SOLARIS the therapeutic community (TC) operated by Karralika Programs Inc and Corrective Services in the Alexander Maconochie Centre and progress made towards the establishment of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residential rehabilitation facility scheduled for completion in June 2013. Consideration will also be given to other types of AOD services that interface with rehabilitation services.

Methodology: A capacity building approach will be adopted to the review. The review will include:

1. Epidemiological analyses of the prevalence of AOD misuse and estimates of demand on the service system.
2. Review of the international and local evidence relating to outcomes.
3. Mapping and analyses of services, pathways into the system and through the system and identifying opportunities to strengthen services.
4. Consultations with key referrers, consumers and their family members/ friends about their experiences of the service system, whether the services meet the needs of those seeking AOD rehabilitation and opportunities to strengthen services.
5. No more than 10 recommendations will be developed highlighting opportunities to strengthen access to AOD rehabilitation services in the ACT.

Review Team: The small review team will include:

• Andrew Biven, with extensive experience working in therapeutic communities, including The Woolshed in South Australia and The Buttery in NSW.
• Dr Rod McQueen, Lyndon House NSW, which operates both a withdrawal unit and a therapeutic community.

If you want to know more about the review or how you might be able to get involved, contact Denise Ryan in the Health Directorate ACT Government. Telephone: (02) 6207 9110  email: denise.ryan@act.gov.au

ATODA’s first Annual Report (1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011)

ATODA’s first annual report reflects the work of a thriving, proactive and collaborative organisation with members and staff committed to improving the health of the ACT community through the reduction and prevention of alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) related harms.

Download the annual report and the financial statements here.

ATODA’s Reconciliation Action Plan

ATODA has a vision of an ACT community where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have good health and wellbeing and have strong communities.  This can, and needs to be, achieved through many ways including the prevention and reduction of harms associated with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other members of the ACT community is important to ATODA as an organisation based on the principles of public health, human rights and social justice.

ATODA presented its Reconciliation Action Plan 2012 at the AGM.

Become a member of ATODA

Stakeholders are invited to become member or renew their membership of ATODA.  For further information:

Download the membership renewal form.

Download a new membership application form.

Or contact (02) 6255 4070 or office@atoda.org.au

Individuals wishing to obtain subsidised NRT will be provided with a copy of the NRT Policy, which contains further information as well as the registration form. On receipt of the completed registration form ATODA will liaise with one of the four partner pharmacies and the individual to arrange the provision of the NRT.  Individuals will be asked to participate in confidential evaluation processes to assess the progression of their smoking management, reduction and/or cessation.

Individuals are actively encouraged to engage with their health professionals prior to beginning NRT and ATODA will provide smoking cessation information and resources.  Tobacco counselling and support services are available by calling the Quitline on 13 78 48 and in the ACT Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Services Directory.

For further information please contact Kathryn Sequoia on (02) 6255 4070 or at tobacco@atoda.org.au