New figures show the number of people dying of unintentional drug overdoses has jumped by 59 per cent in the Grampians region.
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Data from the Penington Institute's Australia's Annual Overdose Report 2019, released on Tuesday, shows 27 people died by unintentional overdose between the Ararat and West Wimmera municipalities between 2013 and 2017.
There were only 17 such deaths between 2003 and 2007. The report notes opioids "continue to be the primary drug group associated with unintentional drug-induced deaths".
The Penington Institute provides front-line training for healthcare professionals around unsafe drug use.
Chief executive John Ryan said a potential solution was educating doctors and the community about how to handle unsafe drug use.
"There is not enough clear information for people who are potential overdose witnesses on the signs of addiction and how to respond to an overdose," he said.
"Naloxone is a drug that can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose, and paramedics have been using that for decades. It needs to be in the hands of family members of people taking high-dose opioids.
"We also need to stop expecting law enforcement to sort this out. We have to invest in the healthcare workforce, so doctors see themselves as pivotal to providing substance use expertise in communities. Health departments and politicians need to make this a priority."
Mr Ryan said it was too early to say what impact the SafeScript monitoring system was having on overdose deaths.
The real-time prescription monitoring system was brought in statewide in April after a successful trial in Western Victoria, advocated for by Nhill woman Margaret Millington whose son Simon died following an addiction to prescription medication.
"The challenge for its implementation is to make sure people picked up by SafeScript get access to more healthcare, not less," he said.
"There is evidence from the US that turning people away from prescribing doctors can see them move into black market for drugs. We've got to deal with the demand for drugs rather than just turning off the supply."
The report comes as attempts to help Wimmera residents on prescription medication solutions continue.
Dr Andrew Horwood has been running a one-week-a-month pain management program at Wimmera Health Care Group for the past nine months. He said 50 Wimmera residents had reduced their reliance on prescription medication since the program began.
"I've looked into the histories of what participants had been taking last year compared to now, and on average there has been a reduction of 30 per cent in the total amount of opiates taken," he said.
Dr Horwood's classes seek to give people with persistent non-cancer pain an alternative relief to medication. He said OxyContin, Norspan and Palexia were the most common painkillers Wimmera residents took.
"I'm planning to continue coming to Horsham in 2020," he said.
"A key element of the success has been a four-week persistent pain program run by Wimmera Base Hospital, I'd like to see that run more often."
Dr Horwood said there were also a range of opioid substitution therapies.
"Methadone is the widest known, but the safest product is one called Suboxone," he said. "Those treatments work well when there is access to alcohol and other drug services like those provided by Grampians Community Health, so I'd like to see them more resourced as well."
International Overdose Awareness day takes place on Saturday.
Seek drug help without fear: emergency services
- The Penington Institute advises those concerned about drug use to contact DirectLine on 1800 888 236; in an emergency phone 000.
WIMMERA emergency service leaders are urging people not to let the fear of getting in trouble stop them from seeking help for substance abuse.
Their comments come as new research shows the number of deaths by unintentional overdose has increased by 59 per cent in the Grampians region in 10 years.
Wimmera Superintendent Paul Margetts said one of the education programs police were involved in as part of the Wimmera Drug Action Taskforce was aimed at young people.
"If someone becomes ill because they have drunk or taken a substance, call triple zero - because the most important thing is to get medical treatment for the person who has become sick," he said.
"That's been a critical piece of work.
"Victoria Police has a drug diversion program and discretionary authority as to whether a prosecution is launched.
"The first thing we want to see is for a person to get medical treatment. Then we will work with the person to engage in a diversion program, or something other than launching a prosecution - because we want the person to get help and stay alive more than anything else.
"After that, we can often collect some information about what type of drugs they were, how they were acquired ... that more detailed stuff."
Superintendent Margetts said there had been an increase in the types of drugs available in the past ten years.
"Methamphetamine has become more prevalent. It's one of the most common drugs Wimmera police come across in their work - whether that's for drug use, possession or trafficking," he said.
"We are not seeing it being manufactured here, but being brought in and quite a lot of our detections are people moving along the Western Highway between Melbourne and Adelaide.
"The data is also supported by what we're seeing in terms of our road crash statistics, where the number of drivers affected by drugs in fatal crashes now exceeds the number affected by alcohol.
"Locally we've had four detections of cannabis grow houses across the Wimmera in the last 12 months of significant size - one of them a warehouse-sized shed converted into a grow house."
Superintendent Margetts said police wanted to collect more intelligence on drug prevalence.
He and urged people to phone Crime Stoppers and support "Dob in a Dealer" campaigns when they took place in the Wimmera.
Ambulance Victoria's Horsham senior team manager Michael Gelligan warned people could overdose the first time they tried a drug.
"Being unconscious, having your ability to breathe reduced or stopped altogether, or increasing your body temperature to the point that it damages your brain and body organs are some of the life-threatening effects of the overdose," he said.
"Calling for help and immediate first aid can - and does - save lives. Follow the call taker's instructions. They will give you advice on how to help the patient.
"Paramedics are here to help, but need to know if someone has taken drugs and what's in their system to be able to treat them effectively."
Wimmera Health Care Group director of medical services, Professor Alan Wolff, said nine people were admitted to Wimmera Base Hospital after unintended overdoses in the 12 months to July 1 - a similar number compared to each of the previous four years.
He said prescription medication and alcohol - or a mix of these two - were the most common substances behind the overdoses that Wimmera medical professionals treated.
"Most people don't die, and afterwards there will be a review of their medication with primary care providers," he said.
"We have adequate resources to deal with patients at the time - including intensive care beds. Also, the Safescript monitoring program will involve all hospitals in Victoria by next year, and that will restrict prescribing on opioids and benzodiazepines quite significantly."
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