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.
National Intelligence Network Meeting Minutes (Oct 2014)
Notes from the fifth meeting of the National Intelligence Network on the health harms associated with drug use, held in London on 22nd October 2014. The meeting had a specific focus on drug harms and included an update on the activities of PHE, a briefing on nitrous oxide from DrugWatch, NPS drugs, drug harms for sex workers and links between drug use and domestic violence.
National Intelligence Network Meeting Minutes (June 2014)
Notes from the fourth meeting of the National Intelligence Network on the health harms associated with drug use, held in London on 4 June 2014. The meeting had a specific focus on hepatitis C. A series of presentations from PHE looked at prevalence, testing in prisons an modelling the impact of treatment. Further presentations from the field considered good practice in substance misuse settings from a hepatologist and a drug service point of view drug, including how workforce development can improve outcomes.
NICE Guidance Summary
In March 2014 NICE updated their guidance on needle and syringe programmes. Unlike the previous guidance this has a strong focus on both young people and the use of performance and image enhancing drugs. NNEF planning group member Vicky Fenwick has produced a one page summary.
Pharmacy based needle exchange report
Report of a study carried out by students at the University of Bath at the end of 2011 to calculate the extent to which community pharmacies in England provide needle exchange.
NSP Outcomes Tools
Nigel Brunsdon from the Injecting Advice website has developed two outcomes tools for use in needle programmes.
Hepatitis C and Needle Exchange
The excellent 4-part series ‘hepatitis C and needle exchange’ (published in Findings magazine) by Mike Ashton. This is essential reading for everyone interested in needle exchange.
Harm Reduction Assessment
Medway Community Safety Partnership and Kent Drug and Alcohol Action Team have developed a well designed, and comprehensive harm reduction assessment form, which they have allowed us to offer here for download to inform the work of other services.
Foil Letter Template
Helen Wilks, Harm Reduction Coordinator from Torbay DAAT has allowed us to post an annotated copy of a letter they sent to their local police service that can act as a template to be used by any service wanting to get a local agreement to supply foil (or any other item that is in technical breach of Section 9a of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971).
SOHO Rapid Access Clinic Forms
The SOHO Rapid Access Clinic have kindly offered the assessment forms they use for free download via the NNEF website.