HARM REDUCTION SERVICES
Support without judgement
Compassionate services designed to prevent injury or death while supporting people through evidence-based, person-centred approaches.
Harm reduction strategies are an important part of our approach to reduce injury or death from drug use, opioid dependence and other risk factors such as sex work, rough sleeping and/or homelessness.
The aim of these services is to provide alternative strategies to suit individual needs in a judgement-free setting.
Our pharmacies are equipped with trained staff and resources to provide confidential assistance to support positive choices in relation to:
Drug injection
Sexual health
Drug withdrawal
Overdose prevention and response
At BUFS, we provide products and material to enable you to make informed choices that reduce the risk of harm to yourself, your family and the wider community
Needle and Syringe Program (NSP)
The provision of sterile equipment and safe disposal of sharps, needles and syringes - free of charge
Opioid Substitution Programs (ODT, ORT, MATOD or Pharmacotherapy)
The use of medication such as methadone or buprenorphine to assist in the treatment of opioid dependence
Staged Supply
The Staged Supply Program aims to assist people who are at risk of drug dependency or who are otherwise unable to manage their medicines safely
Webster-pak®️ (Dose Administration Aids or DAAs)
An important tool for those who have challenges with multiple medications and/or dosage times
Take Home Naloxone Program (THN )
Supply of "take home" injection/nasal spray that temporarily reverses the effects of opioids in case of overdose - free of charge.
Needle and Syringe Program (NSP)
Bendigo UFS is a proud participant in the Victorian Needle and Syringe Program (NSP), an initiative of the Victorian Department of Health since 1986.
BUFS aim is to be make a positive impact on the health & wellbeing of everyone living in our community, this includes harm-reduction in those that participate in activities that may have a negative stigma, such as sex work and drug injecting.
We believe every member of our community deserves to be treated with care and respect, and via the provision of this service, we give participants the power to protect themselves by providing sterile injecting equipment along with confidential support & information on a range of health, legal and social services in a judgement-free and confidential setting.
As a partner in the NSP, our pharmacy can provide you with the following resources (free of charge):
Sterile needles and syringes
Swabs
Sexual health products, including female and male condoms and lubricant
Sharps disposal service
Educational material
The NSP has shown to reduce the spread of blood-borne viruses among people who inject drugs, decreasing the risk of the user contracting diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C by increasing access to sterile injecting equipment and sexual health products whilst providing a safe place to dispose of used syringes.
Take Home Naloxone Program (THN)
We're proud to support Bendigo Bendigo UFS is committed to providing strategies of harm-reduction services for anyone at risk of opioid overdose in our community. One of the strategies for reducing opioid-related death, is our participation in the Naloxone Program (THN Program).
Naloxone is a life-saving medicine that temporarily reverses the effects of opioids in case of an emergency. At BUFS Naloxone is available free of charge and without a prescription. Naloxone is available in either injection or nasal spray and is safe to use in people who have not taken opioid medication.
Opioid overdose is not limited to those who abuse Benzodiazepine drugs. Patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain, even when the directions are followed, can experience severe reactions that require medical intervention. In Australia, 75 people are hospitalised and 2 people die every day from prescribed opioid medications with unintentional overdose being higher in rural and regional areas of Australia.
The following medications are commonly prescribed opioids that are used to treat chronic pain; Morphine, Oxycodone, Codeine, Tapentadol, Fentanyl and Buprenorphine.
Our pharmacists can assist with information & resources to develop a response plan for an opioid overdose.
Naxolone should form part of your emergency first aid kit if there are opioid medications in your household - it could save a life!
What increases opioid-related risk?
Taking extra medicine (e.g. for worse pain)
A mix-up with your medicines (e.g. accidently doubling up)
Combining with alcohol or other medicines (e.g. sleeping pills or other pain medicines)
Other changes in your health (e.g. with your liver, kidneys, or lungs)
Someone else taking your opioid pain medicine