Quotes

‘I write on behalf of the AMA (NSW) … [who] has been working closely with the Kings Cross MSIC in support of the conclusion of its trial status and on 6th July [2010], after examining the considerable weight of evidence provided by the MSIC during its operations, the AMA (NSW) council passed a unanimous resolution calling on the NSW Government to make it permanent.’

Dr Michael Steiner
President, Australian Medical Association (NSW)
Sept 2010

‘The National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research is Australia’s leading research institute concerning HIV, hepatitis C and STIs and as a result we have a deep interest in, and understanding of, the role of the MSIC… [we] write to indicate our support for the removal of the trial status of the Sydney MSIC.

…Supervised injecting facilities have been shown to be highly effective interventions in reducing the harms associated with injecting drug use and a growing body of international evidence indicates that these facilities are associated with reductions in needle and syringe sharing, overdoses, public injecting and numbers of publicly discarded syringes, increased uptake of drug detoxification and addiction treatment programs and have not lead to increases in drug related crime or rates of relapse among former drug users (Maher and Salmon 2007).’

Professor David Cooper AO FFA
Director, National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research
July 2010

‘A service that has consistently been demonstrated to be safe, effective and cost efficient should be embraced and supported, so it can continue to reduce fatal and non fatal overdoses, reduce transmission of blood borne viruses, enhance access to other services for those who are affected by drug use and, of course, improve the public amenity of the Kings Cross area. The human benefits are obvious. These are matched by the reductin of costs to other health services, including emergency services and primary health care. Critically, the [MSIC] has provided a bridge to other care, often referring clients to drug treatment services.’

Professor Steve Allsop
Director, National Drug Research Institute

‘[The] National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre would like to acknowledge the strong and enduring commitment of the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre to the pursuit of objective evidence. The [MSIC] has undergone robust evaluation and review of the course of its operation. Indeed the [NDARC] has been central to the evaluations of the MSIC. The reviews have provided support for the management and operation of the centre and the clinical and social impact of the Centre. The findings are consistent with international findings and support the role of the centre within a broad range of responses to drug related problems. We support the removal of the MSIC from trial status and to place it as an ongoing service within Sydney, consistent with evidence -based policy.’

Associate Professor Alison Ritter
Acting Director, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre
Sept 2010

‘The National Centre in HIV Social Research fully supports the removal of the trial status of the Sydney [MSIC]… The MSIC is an exceptional success in providing effective and respectful care for those most marginalised in our community. The MSIC has been subject to a high level of scrutiny. On each item the MSIC has demonstrated a positive impact. Few other public services could evaluate so highly.’

Professor John de Wit
Director, National Centre in HIV Social Research
July 2010

‘ Over the past 9 years, the Sydney MSIC has been assessed as an effective, safe and cost effective program for injecting drug users. It provides considerable benefits including major savings to the wider health system. The MSIC also offers counselling, support and referral services to severely marginalised injecting drug users who are often not in contact with any other health services. […] NCETA reiterates its support for the Sydney MSIC, and strongly encourages the NSW Government to ensure permanent provision of this important service.’

Professor Ann Roche
Director, National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA)
Sept 2010

‘The Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA) is the national non-government, not-for-profit peak body for the alcohol and other drugs sector, providing an independent voice for people working to reduce the harm caused by alcohol and other drugs. […] ADCA believes that lifting the trial status and providing the MSIC with some much-needed certainly around its existence would adequately acknowledge the now significant body of scientific evidence that the MSIC has been successfully achieving its objectives and providing a vital health service to individuals and the wider community of Kings Cross.’

David Templeman
CEO, Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australi (ADCA)
March 2010

‘The basis of Australia’s public health response to the transmission of HIV and other blood-borne viruses through injecting drug use is harm reduction. Harm reduction is one of the key principles of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, and the [MSIC] is a leader in minimising drug-related harm among injecting drug users […] The scientific evidence documenting the benefits of supervised injecting facilities is sound.

…AFAO is strongly supportive of the MSIC. We believe that the MSIC should be established as a permanent service rather than a trial project, and that establishment of further centres in other locations should be investigated.’

Simon Donohue
A/Executive Director, Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO)
July 2010

‘We would strongly endorse the progression of the centre from a pilot to a continuously funded, permanent health service. […] We fully endorse and support the work that you are doing and look forward to working with you in the future.’

Dr Jonathon Anderson MB ChB FRACGP MSc MPH Dip Ven
President, Australasian Society for HIV Medicine Inc

‘The MSIC is a good example of Australia’s bipartisan drug policy of ‘harm minimisation’ and there is now ample scientific evidence internationally to document not only the benefits of supervised injecting facilities which save lives, but also the absence of harm.’

Sarah Thackway
President, NSW Branch of Public Health Association of Australia
July 2009

 
   Tony with Damian

'I will always wonder, if MSIC had been open in 1997, whether or not I would still have my son, Damien, by my side. There are two approaches to the tragedy of drug addiction: morality, myth and magic; or compassion, pragmatism and evidence. I subscribe to the latter.'

Tony Trimingham, founder of Family Drug Support and author of Not my family, never my child, whose son, Damien, died of a heroin overdose, aged 23

 
          Graham Long

'I long for the day when we help those who are suffering, rather than blame and punish them. MSIC has proven many times its worth in terms of lives saved; families spared the heartache of a needless death. More importantly, MSIC stands as a reminder that people who suffer addiction are part of our community; they are our brothers and sisters and they deserve dignity and a helping hand to better days. How long does doing good have to remain “a trial” for New South Wales?'

Graham Long, Pastor, Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross

 
      Sister Noelene White

'MSIC treats people as people – it serves to remind us that health services should not judge the people it sees, but instead reach out to help. The nurses and counsellors at MSIC provide a quality of service and commitment to the wellbeing of others less fortunate, that is exceptional. These staff deserve our praise; and the clients, our compassion and support at a most vulnerable time in their lives. At MSIC these marginalised members of our community are met with dignity and respect – an experience that can facilitate the confronting of entrenched drug use. I am proud to be associated with MSIC.'

Sister Noelene White, Pastoral Care, Good Shepherd Sisters

 
        Nicholas Cowdery

'MSIC helps to put the problem of injecting drug abuse where it belongs – in the health system and not in the criminal courts. It does so while ... saving lives, preventing the spread of disease and reducing the nuisance value of public drug injection. I strongly support the creation of more centres and the continuing operation of this one.'

Nicholas Cowdery AM QC, NSW Director of Public Prosecutions

 
            Adrian Bartels

'As a long-term resident and local businessman, I remember the needles in the gutter and the constant ambulances before MSIC opened. MSIC helps to contain the injecting of drugs in Kings Cross in a medically supervised environment, where users are offered assistance in placement to addiction rehabilitation programs. MSIC provides a vital and humane service to some of the most vulnerable and unfortunate in our society.'

Adrian Bartels
local business owner and chairman of the Potts Point and Kings Cross District Partnership

 
            ACEM

"I wish to state ACEM’s support for the continuation of the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre. We believe that ample evidence has been accumulated during the nine year trial period that the centre is achieving its stated aims and providing significant, measurable benefits to injecting drug users. Flow on effects to the wider community are considerable…. We would therefore also support amendment of legislation which would allow the Sydney MSIC to operate as a permanent, mainstream health service in NSW"

Dr Sally McCarthy
President, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine
July 2010

 
            AFPHM

“On behalf of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine, I would like to convey our support for the continuation of the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre… Evaluation data from the Sydney MSIC, strongly supported by evidence from similar centres in other countries demands continuation of the MSIC.”

A/Professor Leena Gupta
President, Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine

 
            AMA(NSW)

"The AMA(NSW) supports the establishment of the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre as a permanent NSW Health Department Service."

This resolution was passed unanimously by the AMA NSW Council in July 2010.

 
            RACGP

"The RACGP supports holistic continuing comprehensive patient centred care…. After nine years the MSIC has demonstrated its value and the RACGP believes it is time for it to become a permanent part of the services available to reduce the impact of injecting drug use."

Dr Chris Mitchell
President, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
August 2010.

 
            RACP

"The Royal Australasian College of Physicians strongly supports the continuation of the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre. It is high time the temporary research status of the MSIC was ended."

Dr Jennifer Alexander
Chief Executive Officer, Royal Australasian College of Physicians
June 2010

 
            The Global Fund

"It is unfortunate that innovative interventions like MSIC tend to become critical symbols for polarised groups. The resulting controversy risks obscuring the fact that harm-reduction interventions as a whole are a key component of any comprehensive response to the AIDS epidemic and that Australia is widely perceived as a compassionate and progressive leader in this field. It is my hope … that MSIC will continue to provide critical services to injecting drug users in Sydney."

Michel Kazatchkine
Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria

 
            UNAIDS

“Services like the ones provided by the Medically Supervised Injecting Room in Kings Cross prevent new HIV infections and save many lives. I congratulate the New South Wales Government for taking an evidence-informed decision to protect the people who use drugs.”

Mr Michel Sidibe`
Executive Director of UNAIDS – the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

 
            RANZCP

“The RANZCP is supportive of the Sydney MSIC as a pragmatic and compassionate response to the reality of drug use and drug addiction … Furthermore, given the significant relationship between mental health, drug use, and homelessness, the role the MSIC plays in extending circumstances in which health professionals have contact with injecting drug users is especially important.”

Dr Maria Tomasic
President, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists