NNEF 2021 AGM
2021 Annual General Meeting held on 2nd December at 19:00. This meeting was held via Zoom due to the Covid pandemic lockdowns.
Author: Nigel Brunsdon
Injecting Equipment Provision in Scotland
New good practice guidance on the provision of injecting equipment in Scotland has been published. This is the first such publication in Scotland since the 2010 Guidelines for services providing injecting equipment: Best practice recommendations for commissioners and injecting equipment provision services in Scotland.
Since then, there have been significant changes in what drugs people use, in the way drugs are being used, as well as research on the role and provision of IEP services. These factors mean that there has long been a need for new guidance.
Minimum Standards for Needle Exchanges and Harm Reduction Services
The charity Humankind has launched a new minimum standards document for their organisations harm reduction services. The new standards are intended to improve equitable access to needle and syringe provision and reduce the stigma and discrimination faced by people who use substances.
The new guidelines have been welcomed by others working in the sector. “I am delighted to see drive to improve the care we offer to some of our most vulnerable members of society”, said Professor Graham Foster, Professor of Hepatology at Queen Mary University of London and National Clinical Chair for the Hepatitis C Delivery Networks.
“Preventing avoidable harms by high quality needle exchange is one of the most effective ways of improving health and reducing costs and this initiative will help in our goals to build back better after the pandemic”, Foster added.
Low Dead Space Posters and Leaflet
Exchange Supplies and Michael Linnell have produced a collection of posters and a colourful leaflet to promote the use of reduced dead space equipment.
Low dead space injecting equipment has less space between the needle and the plunger after injecting. Blood and drug remain in this space, so if equipment is shared the risk of spreading blood-borne viruses, such as HIV and hepatitis C, is higher when there’s more blood left in the equipment.
The poster topics were informed by the information gathering stage of the project, and cover the subjects most commonly requested as in need of additional information.
The posters can be used together or in rotation, with a different message every month or so being highlighted.
Low Dead Space Needles and Syringes
Low dead space injecting equipment has less space between the needle and the plunger after injecting. Blood and drug remain in this space, so if equipment is shared the risk of spreading blood-borne viruses, such as HIV and hepatitis C, is higher when there’s more blood left in the equipment.
This animation explains low dead space equipment and the benefits of using it for people who inject drugs, to reduce the risk of spreading blood borne viruses.
The project to develop this animation included Bristol Drugs Project service users as co-designers. The project was overseen by a steering group that included Bristol Drugs Project, Exchange Supplies, Public Health England, NIHR CLAHRC West and NIHR Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Evaluation of Interventions.
Update from NNEF Chair
Wow, what a strange period we live in. A lot has happened since our last event in Birmingham back in December 2019.
Drug Related Deaths are still, sadly, far too high, although, thankfully, there has not been much of an increase in some parts of the country that have adapted. Which goes to show services can trust people with 2 weeks’ worth of OST and they “won’t take it all at once and overdose, or sell it all for drugs!”
But there are some rays of hope:
- Liver transplantations and deaths from liver cancer due to hepatitis C are decreasing. More people are being treated successfully, which is great (although we need to be extremely vigilant about re-infections who are slowly but surely rising)
- Although access to sterile injecting equipment and decent, adequate Harm Reduction advice has been badly affected since March 2020. In order to get a better picture of the situation, the NNEF will be working with the Hepatitis C Trust peers to conduct a large national mystery shopper exercise so we can see where we could improve things for People Who Inject Drugs
- Heroin Assisted Treatment is going from strength to strength in Middlesbrough & the Cranstoun Diamorphine Assisted Treatment pilot is about to go live in the West Midlands
- Newport (Wales) have launched a fantastic new peer to peer naloxone programme with many overdoses reversed already
I’m sure I’m missing loads of other great pieces of work going on out there. If you would like to showcase your amazing work, please get in touch!
We will not have a conference this year, which I know will be missed by many. We are looking forward to the possibility of a face to face conference (maybe early next year) because we know that we, and you, tend to leave our events energised and motivated to keep Harm Reduction alive and well.
In the meantime, the NNEF will hold its virtual AGM before the end of this year, where we will discuss the future of our organisation, so keep an eye out for more updates on here and on the mailing list.
You may have noticed our new website! Hope you’ll like it as much as we do. Nigel (NNEF Co-Deputy Chair and web guy) has, yet again, done a fantastic job so thanks a million Nigel! I’m sure you’ll agree it’s really easy to navigate, it still has our usual, great shared resources, past conferences presentations etc…so don’t forget to make sure your membership details are up to date by filling our joining form with your current email address (you can find the signup form on the first page of the site and on the end of every page).
Hope you’re enjoying your summer, we cannot wait to see you all in person soon!
Philippe Bonnet
Chair, NNEF
Chemsex and Harm Reduction for Gay Men Who Have Sex With Other Men
Chemsex briefing from Harm Reduction International. Using substances for sex and socialising is not a new phenomenon. Drug use was documented among gay men and other men who have sex with men long before the term “chemsex” was coined. Chemsex, which has come to the attention of public health professionals in the past decade, involves both sexual and drug-related high risk behaviours such as multiple sexual partners, the use of multiple drugs together, and injecting drug use.
There are many definitions of chemsex, but most agree that it involves the following:
- Sex between men
- Substance use to facilitate, prolong or enhance sex
- Use of a specific set of substances (mainly stimulant drugs)
- Casual sexual partners and often group sex
- Events which last for an extended period of time
- Often facilitated by digital technology.
NNEF Join the VNGOC
The NNEF have now joined the membership of the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC). The Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC) was established in 1983 to provide a link between non governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Vienna-based agencies involved in setting drug policy: the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
“We are delighted to welcome National Needle Exchange Forum to the Committee and look forward to the contribution your organization can make to the work of the VNGOC.”
-The VNGOC Board
This is of course an ideal opportunity for the NNEF to help shift policy and play our part internationally. If you would like to know more about the VNGOC you can find out about their work on their website.
HIV in the UK
HIV epidemiological reports based on PHE data on HIV testing, diagnosis and care in the UK.
Public Health England produce this annual report reviews data for 2019 on new HIV diagnoses, people accessing care in the United Kingdom (UK) and HIV testing in England. It is associated with a set of data tables and a slide set for presentations.
The data show that in 2019 the UK, nationally, met the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets for the third consecutive year, with London achieving the most significant improvements in diagnosis, treatment and viral suppression.
Global State of Harm Reduction Reports
Harm Reduction International’s flagship publication is the biennial Global State of Harm Reduction report. First published in 2008, it involves a coordinated effort across practitioners, academics, advocates and activists to map global data and responses to HIV and hepatitis C epidemics related to unsafe injecting and non-injecting drug use.
It is the only report to provide an independent analysis of the state of harm reduction in the world and has become the go-to source on global harm reduction developments for researchers and advocates in our sector and beyond.