INSIDE THE HEROIN ROOM

THIS is Victoria's first proposed supervised heroin injecting centre. The
$500,000 centre in the heart of Melbourne is fully equipped and ready for
business - if parliament and the community approve.

It could be the blueprint for other centres elsewhere if heroin injecting
room trials get the go-ahead.

Wesley Central Mission, which built the centre, estimates more than 1000
addicts will use it each week.

The Herald Sun was allowed exclusive access to give Victorians an inside
look at the heroin problem.

The State Government yesterday introduced legislation in parliament to set
up five state-sanctioned injecting centres.

Wesley Central Mission's superintendent, the Rev. Tim Langley, is the
person behind the centre on the mission's grounds in Lonsdale St.

He said Victorians needed to see the centre from the inside to get an idea
of the issue they were debating.

"While this particular facility may never open, we believe it is crucial
Victorians see what it is," Mr Langley said.

"They should also know what procedures and protocols are involved."

He said it was vital for opponents of injecting centres - such as people
living nearby - to see what was involved.

"Like our neighbors, we want to make our precinct cleaner and safer," he said.

"We believe this centre will do this. But our neighbors will be the judge."

Under the centre's rules:

DEALING would be banned and heavily policed within a one-block radius.

ANYONE caught dealing in that area or on the premises would be banned from
the centre for a week.

A repeat offence would result in a permanent ban and possible prosecution.
This is in stark contrast to heroin injecting facilities in Berne,
Switzerland, which have in-house dealers.

USERS would have to bring their own drugs.

RECREATIONAL and experimental drug users would not be able to use the centre.

NO ONE under 18 would be allowed in.

Mr Langley vowed to close the centre if it failed to save addicts' lives.

"If there is a trial and supervised heroin injecting facilities fail in
their objective to save lives and reduce drug nuisance, then we would shut
down immediately," he said.

"In any event, this service is only a small part of the answer and is
intended to be an on-ramp to rehabilitation and reintegration of heroin
addicts through mainstream medical facilities."

The Herald Sun was shown an ultra-modern healthcare centre with a doctor's
surgery, cleaning and clothing facilities, a coffee lounge and a
sophisticated security system.

The injecting room has six stainless-steel cubicles separated by Perspex,
three surgical sinks, an emergency medical kit and an oxygen resuscitation
unit.

The equipment addicts use to inject themselves was placed on the stainless
steel bench of one cubicle: a sterile syringe in plastic wrapping, a cotton
wool swab, a plastic spoon, a filter to reduce impurities in the drug, a
small plastic water cup, a kidney tray, and a syringe disposal unit.

The crescent-shaped room has a large red emergency button should a user
overdose.

The button would be hit when the nurse on duty in the room required
emergency assistance.

Within a metre of the button is the emergency medical kit and resuscitation
unit, so an overdose victim could be dealt with immediately.

There are also emergency buttons in toilets.

Before entering the injecting room, an addict would be given a number and
told to wait in the coffee lounge.

To prevent people swapping numbers or any standover tactics, numbers would
not be called in sequence.

Users would enter the injecting room only by invitation from the nurse.

Just outside the injecting room is a doctor's surgery to treat
injecting-related problems such as gangrene, vein damage and abscesses, and
to test for HIV and hepatitis C.

Two nurses would be on duty at all times. Also on hand would be doctors,
two other nurses, drug and alcohol counsellors and a medical director. The
receptionist would be a trained nurse.

Psychiatrists, experts in blood-borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitisC, a
women's health expert, ethnic support workers and solicitors offering legal
advice would also be on duty regularly.

The entrance would be watched by a security guard working with police and
council officers to ensure no dealing took place within one block.

A closed-circuit TV monitors the entrance and the coffee lounge.