Legal Highs, Injecting is No Surprise
Years ago when I started doing harm reduction work it was a very different drug landscape, heroin was the main drug used by people coming into services (after alcohol of course) Most injectors I saw used heroin, and possibly the occasional 'treat' of a rock of crack. Of course there where also people injecting steroids and the occasional amphetamine injector but these where far less common. Now though we have the rise of the legal high...
Overdose bereavement support
International overdose awareness day was two weeks ago, but I'm still thinking though all the thoughts it's brought up for me. Every year thousands of people die leaving behind family and friends. But what support do we give the people left behind?
Needle stick injury
If you work in drug services the chances are there's an A4 poster up somewhere telling you what do do if you, as a worker, are accidentally spiked with a used needle. You may even have read it once or twice, but now its going brown at the edges and no one really notices it. But how often do we talk about this with injectors, after all they're at a far greater risk of getting spiked than we are.
Don't forget the processes
Recently I've been reading and listening to some interesting talks on the advice that we give alongside syringe delivery. I think that in many Needle Programmes (NSP) workers are overly focused on the equipment an injector chooses to use rather than on the process of injecting.
Cold weather
The UK in currently in the grip of unusually cold weather. In this article I'm going to look at both the steps services can take to support people during the current cold snap and hopefully some advice for people who are forced to spend time outside in the snow. Plus how this will improve the relationship with visitors and give staff another great set of engagement tools .
