TAKEAWAY SHOP CONVERTS TO DRUG CENTRE

A "shopfront" centre in Sydney's Kings Cross area that gives drug users a
safe, medically supervised environment for injecting drugs, has gained 841
registered patients in its first three months.

The centre is in what used to be a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet, in a busy
tourist district.

Dr Ingrid VanBeek, medical director of the Medically Supervised Injecting
Centre, said there had been just over 3000 injecting episodes in 841
registered patients since it opened. There were 244 referrals for
dependency treatment including detoxification, self help groups, and use of
methadone or buprenorphine (which was recently added to the list of
government subsidised drugs).

There were also 1192 "occasional services," such as provision of slings,
bandages, dressings, and first aid. The centre gave treatment for 36 cases
of overdosing, in almost all cases without using naloxone reversal.

The centre is open for eight hours a day, including weekends, and initially
averaged seven patients an hour. This figure is now about double.

Although some local businesses had been worried about increased drug
dealing and public affray, none of this seems to have occurred.

Mr Allen Sleiman, who owns the nearby Fountain Cafe, said that he supports
the project and has noted no change in the ambience of the area since its
opening.