Squiffy Teddy Does…Heroin

Parents in South Bristol are beginning to express their concern at the growing number of used heroin needles littering pavements in the Bedminster and Southville area.

A parent from the Chessels area of Bristol contacted Squiffy Teddy with her concerns about her child’s safety whilst out at local play parks. The mother who asked not to be named wrote: ‘It’s not fair when I take my child to a local park to have to always be on the alert for needles. I usually spot them as well. A child is likely to pick them up out of curiosity and the health implications are unthinkable. Why are these people so selfish to be leaving them in public places?’

Accidental overdose can cause death or coma, botulism has been recorded and the sharing of needles carries the risk of HIV or hepatitis

According to the Bristol Drugs Project (BDP), there are an estimated 8,000 people in Bristol with a serious heroin or crack cocaine problem. The highly addictive class A drug, causes a physical dependence in the people who use it.

It carries a maximum jail sentence of seven years imprisonment with a fine just for possession.

Trafficking, supply or intent to supply offences have a maximum imprisonment of life, plus a fine.

The drug may be smoked, swallowed or injected. Regular use means users have to increase the amount of the drug that they take.  This causes many social and health problems. Financing a growing dependency on the drug can make users resort to crime to pay for their habit.

The health risks of injecting the drug are also incredibly high. Apart from the user not knowing exactly what mix of drugs they are injecting, accidental overdose can cause death or coma, botulism has been recorded and the sharing of needles carries the risk of HIV or hepatitis.

It is no surprise that parents are frightened about the health risks posed by children picking up needles left in parks and on pavements. But why are they there at all?

The BDP co-ordinates comprehensive needle exchange provisions across Bristol to make sure addicts have a variety of ways to dispose of needles safely. The three methods they use are: at their city centre base, 11 Brunswick Square; on two Mobile Harm Reduction Service vehicles which serve the outlying areas of Bristol during the day and a city centre population in the evenings; via 27 pharmacies across Bristol.

It’s not fair when I take my child to a local park to have to always be on the alert for needles

Up to 40 free new needles are given each week to addicts in exchange for used ones. Pharmacies throughout Bristol also run their own schemes selling clean needles cheaply.

In Bedminster and Southville, there are various locations where pharmacies operate a needle exchange: Lloyds on Regent Road, Boots on East Street, Ideal (Co-Op) on North Street and the Asda superstore.

With up to 40 needles being distributed to a potental 8,000 addicts in Bristol, are the fears of parents confounded and are the numbers of discarded needles left on Bristol streets increasing? Steve Jackson from the BDP doesn’t think so. “I am not aware of there being a particular issue with discarded equipment in Southville or any other area recently” he says reassuringly.

“If we were made aware of a particular concentration of discards being collected by the Drug and Sex Litter Team, we would seek to use any influence we have to target those that might be responsible. Equipment is not marked and cannot be identified and does not always come from exchange schemes organised by BDP, but we are always conscious of our responsibility to ensure as much equipment as possible is returned to us in order to be safely disposed of.”

So is there anything that parents with community concerns can do to clean up streets they consider a problem? Steve says: “If a community is experiencing particular problems with discarded needles and syringes I would advise those within it to report each and every finding to the council’s cleansing department, as data from their collections is analysed and actions should flow from this.  I am aware that the Drug and Sex Litter Team target regular collections from areas and locations identified as “hotspots”.

There are unfortunately needles that are discarded irresponsibly.  We make every effort to encourage users of our needle exchanges to discard their used equipment safely, and have procedures to tackle those who do not regularly return used equipment and seek to increase the rate of returns.

“Needles and syringes can be obtained in a variety of other ways also: they can be purchased at pharmacies, are available over the internet and will probably be diverted from other medical use.

“Our needle exchange provision is commissioned with an expectation that we seek to maximise the rate of returns of used equipment.  We have consistently reached targets in this area and take our responsibilities in this respect very seriously.

“ In Bristol such litter is cleaned up by Bristol City Council’s Drug and Sex Litter Rapid Clear-Up Team.  We liaise with this service to ensure that we are aware of any areas where there are particular or specific issues in order that we might re-double our efforts to maximise our rate of returns and to encourage our service users to return their used equipment appropriately and responsibly.”

According to figures held by Bristol City Council and released under the Freedom of Information Act,  in the last three years, there have been 4468 recorded visits to remove ‘sharps’ . These figures do not include the number of needles collected on each visit, nor record the number of calls that are made out of office hours.

We need used equipment returned to us so that it does not pose any risk to the wider community as well as drug users themselves, as re-using of this equipment increases the risk of contracting infections and blood borne viruses

Bristol City Council relies on the public calling its dedicated Drugs and Sex Litter Hotline to help locate and remove Heroin needles.

Between April 2007 and August 2009, the phone line received 2834 calls.

Worryingly, despite the Council responding to all reports of needles phoned in by members of the public, on 68 occasions, Council workers were unable to find them.

“But why are these needles left lying around?” asks Mrs Chessels as she continues in her email to Squiffy Teddy. Are these needles left for users to come back and reuse? Or are they just dumped on the street?

Steve answers this for us: “There are unfortunately needles that are discarded irresponsibly.  We make every effort to encourage users of our needle exchanges to discard their used equipment safely, and have procedures to tackle those who do not regularly return used equipment and seek to increase the rate of returns.  Explanations as to why this occurs are individual for each instance, often reflecting the disorganisation in lifestyle that injecting drug users experience.

“It is our intention to provide injectors with a sterile (i.e. new) needle and syringe for each injection, so we would hope that discarded needles are being left thoughtlessly rather than to be used again.  We need used equipment returned to us so that it does not pose any risk to the wider community as well as drug users themselves, as re-using of this equipment increases the risk of contracting infections and blood borne viruses.”

A survey published back in the summer of 2009 by DrugScope, found that one in five UK adults have some direct or indirect personal experience of drug addiction. The poll was conducted to find out what the public’s view of drug users was. Of those surveyed, 80 per cent believed that people can become addicted to drugs because of other problems in their lives. Only 31 per cent agreed that there is no excuse for drug addiction and it is always the individual’s fault.

The addict was sentenced to three years but was out in a year because he had stayed off of drugs while in prison

“Our services are also available to those experiencing difficulties as a result of somebody else’s substance use.” Steve says. “ BDP would seek to promote our services to anyone who needs them and point to our experience that those needing to use our services come from the widest imaginable variety of backgrounds.”

The BDP is an independent charity offering free and confidential advice and services to help people with a drug problem. It has an extensive family support service, offering maternity help through midwives and doctors, a women’s drop in session with a crèche for under-5s, a father’s drop in and a programme of parenting courses and workshops.

The BDP’s mentoring programme also provides one-to-one support for children aged 8 – 16 whose parents have problems with drugs or alcohol.

But those whose lives have been so badly affected by the actions of heron addicts find it hard to be forgiving. Father of two, Mark comes from Portishead, a small town outside of Bristol that he believes has been plagued by hard drugs for many years.

Mark now suffers a permanent disability due to the actions of a heroin addict. He says: “In Portishead, every illegal drug that is out there is available with one or two mobile phone calls or chats in pubs. While I thought this was only easy in my home town, on my many visits to other villages while meeting up with college or work mates the problem is rife everywhere if you sit and listen to the locals.

“I myself have managed to stay clear of heroin but have lost many friends from different villages all over North Somerset to it.  By this I mean they change so much while addicted  that I no longer call them friends, although I have also lost a few to overdoses.

“One thing that really gets me is the fact that an addict can do a crime and the legal system is soft on them. Sentences are halved if not more. I know this for a fact. Once, I was stabbed by a addict who was sketched out as he couldn’t score any smack.

“When a friend of mine drunkenly almost walked out in front of him on his motorbike, he pulled over and started to hit him with his bike helmet. When I walked around the corner  and saw this, I pushed the addict to the floor and picked up my mate by his shirt collar and started to walk off. Next thing I  remember is being surrounded by people fussing around me as I was bleeding to death after being stabbed in the back.

“I died during the operation to save my life, but though I managed to get through it, the damage done to my body has been permanent. Ten years on I am unable to work, walk properly or do many of the everyday things that are part and parcel of normal life.

“The addict was sentenced to three years but was out in a year because he had stayed off of drugs while in prison.”

So what should you do if you or your child finds a used needle?:

Steve says: “The first advice we would offer would be for anyone who comes across discarded injecting equipment, would be to report this to the Drug and Sex Litter Team so that it can be cleared up safely (on 0117 9222241).  Advertising this facility as widely as possible is important.  Should anybody suffer a needlestick injury we would advise that they seek immediate medical attention, so that appropriate action can be taken as speedily as possible.”

For more information about the Bristol Drugs Project, visit: www.bdp.org.uk

or phone: 0117 9876009

The Bristol City Council’s Drug and Sex Litter Team can be reached on 0117 9222241