"It was a disappointment that the Alexander Maconochie Centre, which was established on human rights principles, opened without a needle and syringe program" says Andrew Burry, General Manager of the AIDS Action Council. "This policy has put the health of inmates at risk."
In Australia, the needle syringe programs (NSPs) implemented in the early stages of the epidemic have been clearly linked to our ability to keep HIV to minimal levels in the intravenous drug using populations, compared to countries where NSPs have not been established.
The Council notes with disappointment, however, the apparent intransigence of CPSU ACT Director Vince McDevitt on this issue. Andrew Burry says the union has an opportunity to reconsider its position based on the latest international evidence.
"The occupational health and safety of prison staff is obviously a matter of prime concern, yet successful programs implemented overseas have demonstrated that providing clean needles and syringes actually improves officer safety." He said. He points to Spain, where a prison based NSP has operated system wide for a decade, as an example Australia should give close attention to.
Mr. Burry also noted McDevitt's comment of the seriousness with which his officers take their jobs, and assumes that this includes a commitment to meeting the objectives of the Adult Corrections Health Services Plan. "It is a fundamental principle of the plan that prisoners are entitled to health care that is equivalent to that which is available to the whole community. That surely includes a commitment to ensuring that people in correctional settings have equal access to all harm reduction programs".
The AIDS Action Council of the ACT is a community based organisation established to minimise the social and personal impacts, and transmission, of HIV/AIDS. The Council remains as the only community based HIV specific agency in the ACT region and has developed into a strong organisation with services based on sound evidence, specialist knowledge and professional practice. This agency fully supports the establishment of a Needle and Syringe Program at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
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