Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) will appoint a senior officer to act as a community liaison representative. The role has been created following requests from REDWatch and The Factory Community Centre to make the existing health services more accessible to the community.
Chief Executive of SLHD, Dr Teresa Anderson, said: “During consultation forums, a recurring theme has been that there are a number of health care services already in existence within this area. However there are opportunities to improve communication and coordination pathways to health services. This position is well placed to build up these areas.”
Executive Officer of The Factory Community Centre and Convenor of REDWatch, Michael Shreenan, said: “The difficulty has been the complexity of the health system, when it comes to engage with the health professionals at a community level … The same was true with engaging City of Sydney Council because of the size of the organisation and they responded by creating a public housing liaison officer position a few years back. Due to the success of that position we believed a similar role for SLHD would go a long way in addressing local concerns and barriers to health service involvement in the local community.”
The senior officer, when appointed, will also focus on the Needle and Syringe Program in the Redfern and Waterloo area. Dr Anderson said: “The Needle and Syringe Program provides a valuable community service and has a proven track record in the effective management of public health risks associated with the transmission of blood-borne viruses, amongst injecting drug users and the community at large.”
In March this year, the SSH published a story about the proposed installation of an Automatic Dispensing Machine (ADM) for syringes at the Redfern Community Health Centre on Redfern Street. Since then, there has been more discussion within the community about this machine. Dr Anderson said: “Consultation with the community regarding installation of the Syringe Dispensing Machine has been underway. At a recent community forum, views for and against were provided by participants.”
Mr Shreenan said: “The concept is unsurprisingly controversial. My personal view is, given that Redfern and Waterloo have above-state-average rates of blood-borne infections and viruses, any avenue that seeks to reduce this trend should be welcomed. If the dispensing of clean needles saves even one life, then it’s worth it. I understand people’s fears in relation to the proposal but there is a machine elsewhere in the state which causes no negative effect and has proven to be effective as a harm reduction strategy.”
