RECRUITING PROBLEMS DELAY INJECTING ROOMS

Problems recruiting nurses has further delayed the opening of Australia's
first legal heroin injecting room.

The centre was tipped to open last October by New South Wales Special
Minister of State John Della Bosca.

Despite completed renovations, the injecting rooms at a former pinball
parlour in Sydney's Kings Cross would not open for some time because the
operators, the Uniting Church, have failed to find a minimum 15 nurses to
work on the 18 month trial.

The Church is considering advertising the jobs in the UK and Ireland
because of the shortage of registered nurses in New South Wales.

Despite the recruiting difficulties, UnitingCare executive director,
Reverend Harry Herbert, said he was confident the trial would go ahead but
refused to say when.

"It is proving to be more difficult to get registered nurses than we had
imagined ... and we are contemplating recruiting overseas if it becomes
necessary," Rev Herbert said.

"We've overcome many hurdles to get to this point and put a lot of effort
and money into it, so I think it would be very strange if it didn't open.

"But I'm absolutely refusing to put a date on it so many things could
happen...my objective is to do this 18 month trial as soon as possible," he
said.

Rev Herbert denied the project was moving slowly, pointing out the Church
had only received its operating licence in October.

"We have not been very slow, it took a government authority four and a half
months to grant the licence, then we had the building renovations which
took two and a half months, we've started recruiting, so it's pretty good
we've got this far so quickly," he said.

"We are getting close to opening."

The Kings Cross Chamber of Commerce is challenging the validity of the
licence in court, but Rev Herbert said he did not believe the action would
prevent the opening of the centre, which 150 drug users were expected to
visit daily.

Rev Herbert said an Australia National opinion poll conducted for the
Church last May showed the trial was supported by the majority of local
residents and businesses.

Of the 677 callouts to drug overdoses in Kings Cross last year, more than
90 per cent were within 300 metres of the trial site at 66 Darlinghurst
Road, where strip joints, porn movie houses, pinball parlours, fast food
outlets and brothels are dotted.

The centre is expected to cut the number of overdoses in the druginfested
area, which is currently averaging six a week, and reduce the amount of
used syringes littering the streets.

Around 360 people died of heroin overdoses in 1998, up from 292 in the
previous year.

There have been no drug overdose deaths in any of the 42 injecting centres
currently operating in Europe.