Publication Highlights

Primary needle and syringe programs (NSPs) have been integral in preventing blood-borne virus  transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID). Despite this, many PWID face barriers accessing these services, particularly after-hours when most services are closed.

To the authors’  knowledge, the St Kilda NSP in Melbourne is the only primary NSP providing 24/7 dedicated stand-alone face-to-face services for PWID Australia.

This evaluation of the St Kilda NSP found that 72 per cent of the St Kilda NSP’s 39,898 service contacts in 2018 were outside business hours, and similarly, 71% of the 1,185,000 sterile needles and syringes dispatched were distributed outside business hours.

As well as valuing the after-hours service because drug use patterns did not always align with standard NSP opening hours and after-hours access afforded anonymity when collecting injecting equipment, narratives also highlighted additional benefits of the 24/7 service including access to safer sex equipment, naloxone training, referrals to specialist services, and face-to-face emotional and social support.

The authors conclude this study provides evidence of the social and health benefits (beyond that of preventing virus transmission) that can be gained by providing 24/7 primary NSP services. Findings support the need to establish after-hours primary NSPs in other areas of Australia where active street-based drug markets operate outside business hours and concentrated numbers of people who inject drugs live and spend time.

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