Overdose deaths prompt calls for Geelong safe injecting room

THE Victorian Greens are calling on the State Government to open a safe injecting room in Geelong to curb the rising number of unintentional drug overdose deaths in the region.

It follows the release of new data from the Victorian Coroners Court that found that over the past decade, the municipality had recorded the highest number of overdose deaths of any regional Victorian area, at 215.

Twenty-seven unintentional overdose deaths occurred in Greater Geelong last year, the highest number since at least 2011.

“The tragedy is that the overdose deaths that have occurred in Geelong were entirely preventable,” Greens Member for Western Victoria Sarah Mansfield said.

“Medically supervised injecting rooms [MSIR] save lives.

“They not only prevent overdoses by providing immediate treatment, they also link people with addiction support and other social services.”

Dr Mansfield said there was a risk of a “huge escalation” in overdose deaths with the arrival of synthetic opioids, like fentanyl and nitazenes, in Geelong.

“The need for proven harm reduction measures like MSIRs has never been more urgent,” she said.

State Coroner Judge John Cain said the number of lives lost to overdoses last year was “deeply troubling”.

“These deaths are preventable, and we must strengthen our public health response and increase access to supports and treatment,” he said.

According to a recent report from the Penington Institute, opioids such as heroin are the highest contributing illegal drug to overdose deaths across the state, while new psychoactive substances – a group of highly potent drugs designed to mimic the effects of other drugs – remain an emerging concern.

In Geelong, 82 people have died after overdosing on heroin in the past decade, with 10 deaths recorded last year alone.

On Thursday last week, Minister for Mental Health Ingrid Stitt said the Government had no plans to open an MSIR in the Geelong area.

“We have made our position clear on the medically supervised injecting service being located in North Richmond, and the Government has been clear that we have no plans to increase the number of safe injecting services in the state,” she said.

The North Richmond MSIR, which opened as a trial facility in June 2018 and became a permanent fixture in March last year, has saved more than 63 lives and safely managed more than 9,000 overdose incidents.

Ms Stitt instead pointed to Geelong’s recently opened mental health hub, which she said would significantly boost the alcohol and other drugs services available to the community, and a coming ministerial advisory committee about the increasing dangers of synthetic opioids entering the market.

The Victorian Greens have not specified a potential location within the Geelong region for the proposed MSIR.

“The first step is to commit to having one, then the most appropriate location would need to be determined by working with relevant local services,” Dr Mansfield said.

“Any MSIR needs to be readily accessible, including by public transport.”

A spokesperson for the City of Greater Geelong said the organisation was not in a position to comment due to the limitations of the election caretaker period.

In September, the family of 34-year-old Norlane man Jye Vessey, who died last year from a heroin overdose in a Corio Community Health Centre bathroom while accessing a needle exchange program, launched a petition calling for an MSIR to be established in Geelong.

“Despite being an NDIS participant and being linked with the community mental health teams, support was limited, as his case was too complex and maintaining his health was never sustainable,” Jye’s mother Debbie Brady said.

“His story is hard to tell, but a story that is becoming far too common.

“We need to recognise this as the national health problem it is.”

The petition has so far gathered more than 6,500 signatures.