Redfern Health Centre After Hours Needle Dispensing Machine
The Development Approval for the building of the Redfern Health Centre included approval for a Needle Dispensing Machine. In 2011-12 when Sydney and South West Sydney Local Health District started to talk about introducing the machine there was strong concern expressed by local businesses and neighbours about the proposal and the earlier approval. In late 2012 and early 2013 Area Health undertook some public meetings to discuss the issues with those interested below you will find material from Area Health setting out the case for such a facility at the Redfern Street front of the Health Centre.
- Protecting the Health of the Community - Dr Roger Garsia
- This is the presentation "Protecting the Health of the Community : The contribution of sterile needles and syringes to the prevention of harm to drug injectors". This presentation was made by Dr Roger Garsia Director HIV Clinical Services SLHD and Chair NSW Ministry Advisory Committee on HIV /AIDS and STI to a community meeting on 30 October at Redfern Health Centre. This presentation sets out the sucessof harm minimisation around the world and why they are important in an area like Redfern Waterloo. It also with why an automated dispensing machine is required. The file is 1.5MB PDF.
- HIV & Hepatitus C Issues in Redfern Waterloo - Dr Paul Haber
- This is an extract of a presentation made by Dr Paul Haber, Medical Director, Drug Health Services on behalf of Sydney and South West Sydney Local Health District to a community meeting on 30 October at Redfern Health Centre. Dr Haber states that the level of Hepatitus C is 10% higher in Redfern/Waterloo on average than either the national or state figures. His presentation also shows that Redfern/Waterloo has almost twice the HIV prevalance of NSW and more than twice the national prevalence. Dr Haber states that people living in Redfern/Waterloo accounted for 30% of all treatment/interventions provided by DHS within Sydney LHD. The file is 486KB PDF.
- Draft SSWSHS Redfern Harm Minimisation Program Management Plan
- This is the "Draft Redfern Harm Minimisation Program Management Plan" circulated by Sydney and South West Sydney Local Health District to a community meeting for a community meeting on 18 December 2012 at Redfern Health Centre. The Management Plan sets out what is proposed and how it is proposed to be managemend for community input. The file is 105KB PDF.
- Sydney Area Health Redfern Health Centre Meeting Jan 30, 2013 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM — Redfern Health Centre Redfern Street Redfern,
- The next meeting to discuss Harm Minimisation and the proposed Needle dispensing Machine at the Redfern Health Centre will be held on 29 January 2012. Below you will find the text of a letter to attendees from the last meeting from Dr Teresa Anderson Chief Executive Sydney Local Area Health District.
- Your questions and concerns answered
- The Following Questions and Answers were circulated at the Sydney Local Health District Community Meeting on 29 January 2013 at the Redfern Health Centre.
- Key Actions to Reduce the rate of HIV and Hepatitus C Infections
- The Following Summary of Key Actions were circulated at the Sydney Local Health District Community Meeting on 29 January 2013 at the Redfern Health Centre.
- Redfern Harm Minimisation Program - Management Plan at 29 January 2013
- This is was the "Redfern Harm Minimisation Program - Management Plan Automatic Syringe Dispensing Machine January 2013" Working Document circulated at the Sydney Local Health District Community Meeting on 29 January 2013 at the Redfern Health Centre. It sets out a draft Management Plan for the Automatic Syringe Dispensing Machine. This document is a draft and is likely to have changed but is is put here by REDWatch so a document distributed at the meeting is more widely available to the community. File is 715KB PDF.
- Dispensing information, while pushing ahead
- Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) pushed ahead with the installation of the Automatic Dispensing Machine (ADM) in front of the Redfern Health Centre without mentioning it at a public meeting on January 29. In contrast to the December meeting where locals opposing the installation primarily argued their objections with representatives of SLHD, this meeting was independently facilitated and featured a more balanced discussion about the issues with many supporters of the ADM in attendance reports Geoff Turnbull & Justine McNamara in the February 2013 edition of the South Sydney Herald.
- Sydney Local Health District Statement on Installation
- The following statement was released by Dr Teresa Anderson, Chief Executive of Sydney Local Health District (SLHD), on 5 February 2013 to the South Sydney Herald (SSH). SSH requested a statement when the Automatic Syringe Dispensing Machine was installed as this had not been “disclosed at last week’s meeting”. This was the position taken in the print issue of SSH which went to press before the statement below was received. The statement below claims that “the decision to install the machine was announced at a public meeting in Redfern on January 29”. The SSH writer who was at the meeting has subsequently checked with four other meeting attendees with different views on the proposal. They all left with the impression that SLHD looked set to press ahead but none recalled a specific announcement and certainly no reference to an installation date within the week reports South Sydney Herald online on 6 February 2013.
- Redfern automatic syringe dispensing machine Operational - 11th April 2013
- Sydney Local Health District advised the community on 11 April 2013 that the automatic syringe dispensing machine outside the Redfern Community Health Centre is now fully operational as part of Sydney Local Health District’s campaign to combat unacceptably high levels of HIV and hepatitis C infections among injecting drug users in the Redfern area.