In South East Queensland, our friends at QuIHN (Queensland Injectors Health Network) is a helpful place to go. QuIHN is a statewide, not for profit, and non-government health service which provides a variety of health services to illicit drug users throughout Queensland.
The Queensland Needle and Syringe Program (QNSP) aims to reduce the incidence of blood borne viruses (BBVs) and injecting related injuries and disease. The program supplies sterile injecting equipment to injecting drug users with the aim of ensuring users do not share or re-use needles, thus reducing the spread of BBVs within the wider community.
Many people rely on needles, lancets or syringes to manage medical conditions and maintain their health. Pharmacy plays an important role in the community by providing safe methods of disposal and clean injecting equipment for customers who use sharps.
A range of sharps kits (containing alcohol swabs, filters, needles, syringes, and disposal container) are available at a small fee from participating NSP pharmacies. Sharps kits and other injecting equipment are also available at public NSP sites, with some locations having dispensing machines.
You can find your closest Public and Pharmacy NSP by visiting The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (Queensland Branch) or download the new QNSP finder phone app.
This FREE app allows clients to search for 150 public, and over 700 pharmacy, NSPs across Queensland and contains useful info about safe injecting practices, BBVs and overdose. To download the app, please search for ‘Qld Needle & Syringe Program’ in the Google Play or Apple Store or scan the QR code here.
