After much planning, consultations and preparatory work, the Victorian Government released the “Victorian Alcohol and Drugs Strategy” two weeks ago. This was a long-awaited commitment that was generally well-received by the alcohol and other drug sector and the closely related mental health sector.
Believe it or not, this is Victoria’s first ever alcohol and other drugs (AOD) policy! The fact that AOD has been elevated to this level of consideration is in itself a positive. Given that the vast majority of Victorians use alcohol (over two-thirds of adults) or other drugs (47% of adult Victorians have used an illicit drug at some point in their life) this is clearly a worthy focus. When you also the yet to be determined number of people living with mental distress, substance use and other forms of stress in their lives, we start to get a picture of the potential significance of this strategy.
The core of the strategy are the 5 focus areas:
1) Information and access. This is about individuals and families having information about drugs and alcohol and the ability to access supports when they need help. Clearly SUPER important.
2) Harm reduction treatment and design. The focus on a reduction in harm rather than a focus on drugs used is contemporary and helpful. Treatment remains appropriately at the forefront.
3) Culturally safe, self-determined responses for Aboriginal Victorians. Given the wildly disproportionate (to the population) presence of Aboriginal Victorians, both a strong sub-sector and universal standards across the mainstream sector are crucial.
4) System innovation and continuous improvement. The AOD sector is only really 30 years old, having being born of the de-institutionalisation of mental health consumers in the 90s. It is a long way from perfect and needs this focus on innovation, particularly as our understanding of co-occurring needs develops.
5) Integration across intersecting systems. This is where First Step is particularly passionate and at the forefront of care. The focus area acknowledges both the need to provide integrated care at a single site with the need for organisations to have strong, collaborative relationships with each other to attempt to create the feeling of ‘one team’ as far as clients are concerned.
There is a laudable focus on the input of people with a lived and living experience of substance use, including lived and living experience workers, with which First Step closely identifies.
Furthermore, we applaud the focus on the coordination of government departments because human beings are not siloed and their care absolutely must be integrated:
All the help you want and need from one team in one place
That’s our definition, not the governments; they don’t have one.
And as our wonderful Dr John Sherman retires, the focus on strengthening the opioid pharmacotherapy system (methadone, buprenorphine, and the long acting injectables) is absolutely crucial. This involves bringing the primary care sector (GPs) closer to the AOD sector which we also applaud. There needs to be a series of significant improvements if we’re going to realise the potential of these extremely effective medications that save lives and reduce harm.
Obviously, a strategy is just that. Commitment and financial investment are a totally separate question, and if the government does not back this policy (walk the walk) there will be a very disappointed sector and a great deal of avoidable suffering. We applaud the strategy and await the further investment.
| Patrick Lawrence Chief Executive Officer |
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