The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released a new report today:

National opioid pharmacotherapy statistics annual data collection 2012

Click on the link to view the report and media release.

What’s it all about?

People who have become dependent on opioid drugs (such as heroin, morphine or codeine) may receive a replacement oral pharmacotherapy drug (such as methadone or buprenorphine) as part of their treatment. This report presents statistics from the National Opioid Pharmacotherapy Statistics Annual Data (NOPSAD) collection and includes information about opioid pharmacotherapy clients, prescribers and dosing points.

What does it show?

The report shows that on a snapshot day in June 2012 almost 47,000 Australians received pharmacotherapy treatment for their opioid dependence.

Key findings include

• Fewer Australians under 30 are receiving pharmacotherapy treatment for dependence on opioid drugs: the proportion of clients aged less than 30 halved compared with the proportion in 2006—down from 28% to 13%—while the proportion of clients aged 50 and over doubled—from 8% to 18%,
• The overall number of clients receiving pharmacotherapy has doubled since 1998—up from around 25,000 people to almost 47,000 in 2012.
• Around two-thirds (65%) of clients receiving pharmacotherapy in June 2012 were male.
• Almost 1 in 10 (9%) clients identified as Indigenous, almost 3 times their representation in the population as a whole.
• Methadone continues to be the pharmacotherapy drug most commonly prescribed (68%), followed by buprenorphine (32%).
• In 2012, there were 1,768 prescribers of opioid pharmacotherapy in Australia, an increase of 14% from 2011.

Where can I get it?

Electronic copies of all AIHW publications are available on the AIHW website. Printed copies can be purchased.

Professor David Clark has launched Recovery Stories, a new website that is focused on helping individuals and families recover from substance use problems. The website will feature the ‘voice’ of recovering people. Who better to teach us about recovery and how it can be achieved than people who have taken the journey? And what better way to be inspired to find recovery than by reading or watching a Recovery Story?

David is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology who now resides in Perth, Western Australia. He previously lived in the UK where he had set up the Wired In initiative to empower people to tackle substance use problems and the online recovery community Wired In To Recovery. David will be blogging regularly on his website. And check out his first blog describing the website.

Manager, Therapeutic Community

• This is a rare opportunity within the sector not to be missed!

• Join a collegial and motivated executive team

• Scope for further service development and growth

Windana aim to empower people whose lives have been affected by drug or alcohol misuse

by providing a holistic service approach to assist individuals recover and achieve greater

quality of life.

Joining the Windana executive team you will embody the philosophy that change and

growth is possible in all individuals as long as they so choose and you will acknowledge

diversity in the nature of individuals and diversity in all aspects of their life. Windana believe

growth is an ongoing learning process and that is will be sustained through providing a safe,

caring environment where new behaviour and ideas can be freely experienced.

Reporting to the CEO, the Manager Therapeutic Community will provide inspirational

leadership to a dedicated staff group who facilitate adult residential rehabilitation at

Windana’s 40 acre property on the outskirts of Melbourne. Essential for this role is prior

experience gained from working with the Therapeutic Community model of treatment as

well as prior leadership experience at a senior management level.

The successful candidate will be responsible for staff development and ensuring quality

service delivery and case management plans are achieved. You will present with strong

interpersonal skills and the ability to engage (and negotiate) with residents and staff in a

positive way.

This is an exceptional opportunity to join a highly reputable provider in a role where there is

great scope for future service development, networking and social enterprise. For a

confidential enquiry please contact Jessica Inteman on 03 96992880 or send your resume in

WORD format to careers .

Close date; 20th of May, 2013.

(however please note we will be actioning applications as soon as they present)

On the 20th and 21st of August Wandarma will be hosting the “Healing the Scars” Aboriginal Rural and Remote Drug and Alcohol Conference in Batemans Bay on the South Coast of NSW.

“Healing the Scars” is the first national rural and remote Aboriginal drug and alcohol conference and it is the aim that all special guests and presenters will be Aboriginal.

The aim of the conference is to build networks and share understanding of culturally respected ways of working with Aboriginal men, women, young people and families in a holistic approach that suits rural and remote communities with limited resources.

The conference objectives are:

§ To build networks among rural and remote Aboriginal drug and alcohol service providers

§ To build on the limited knowledge basis of how to work effectively in this service delivery context

§ To support rural and remote Aboriginal service providers to analyse and present successful initiatives

§ To explore similarities and differences between desert and saltwater cultures and approaches

§ To provide rural and remote workers with access to nationally recognized experts in the field

§ To build partnerships within the sector

Please find attached the Conference Save the Date Information flyer and our Call for Abstracts. For further information please contact Precilla Boota at Wandarma on 02 64920011 or Lara McLaughlin at The Lyndon Community on 02 63612300 or email HealingtheScars.

The conference is supported by a grant from FARE.

QNADA POSTION VACANT:

IMPROVED SERVICES COORDINATOR

(Full-time position for a 2 year period, with possibility of extension).

The position provides a great opportunity to undertake a diverse range of activities, assisting QNADA members to implement capacity building initiatives, particularly in relation to the delivery of services to those with co-morbid AOD and mental health issues.

The successful applicant will also be involved in a range of state and national policy development activities.

Further information and the position description are available from the QNADA website.

Enquiries: Rebecca MacBean ‐ ph. 07 3023 5050 or Rebecca.MacBean

APPLICATIONS CLOSE C.O.B Monday 20th May 2013

Via NUAA:

COME ALONG TO ANOTHER GREAT NUAA EVENT!

NUAA invites you to a symposium of our top three presentations from the 2012 APSAD Conference.

Dr. Alex Wodak AM What would taxed and regulated cannabis look like?

Ms. Amanda Roxburgh Trends in fentanyl prescriptions and fentanyl – related mortality in Australia

Dr. Ingrid Van Beek AM Sydney Naloxone distribution program what clinicians and clients think

NUAA will also be launching our new peer resource If I knew then what I know now a pocket guide for people thinking of accessing opioid treatment. The resource will be launched by Dr. Mark Montebello from the Langton Centre and Ms. Candice Gilford from the NSW Consumer Participation Sub Committee.

When: Thursday 2 May 2013 14:00-16:30

Where: Albion Street Centre Theatre, 349 Crown St, Surry Hills 2010.

A light afternoon tea will be provided.

Places are limited, please RSVP to Yvonne on 02 8354 7300 or yvonner

Please accept this invitation to attend a seminar presenting findings from the Ambo Project: Alcohol and Drug Related Ambulance Attendances 2011/12.

This project provides detailed statewide and local information regarding non-fatal ambulance attendances where alcohol or other drugs were involved in the presentation, and is a valuable tool for exploration of acute alcohol and other drug related harms in the community, impact on emergency services, and harms in populations not routinely engaged with the specialist AOD sector.

This presentation provides an overview and new findings of this ongoing project which is undertaken by the Population Health Research team at Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre in collaboration with Ambulance Victoria, and which is funded by the Victorian Department of Health.

Please circulate this email to your colleagues.

Time: 11am – 12pm

Date: Tuesday 14th May 2013

Location: Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, 142 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could confirm your attendance, or provide details of an alternative contact who may be interested in attending to Cathie Garrard by Friday 3rd May via email – cathieg or phone – 03 9412 9959.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

The 2013 National Suicide Prevention Conference

Suicide Prevention Australia is excited to announce the 2013 Annual National Suicide Prevention Conference. With the theme Collective Impact: Partners in Prevention, the conference will be held in Melbourne on the 24– 26 July at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins.

The conference will feature plenary panels focusing on the Workplace & Suicide Prevention and Ageing & Aged issues.
The conference is an opportunity to share and exchange knowledge, skills and experiences; and facilitate the development of a cohesive, united, and responsive suicide prevention sector.
Every year the conference brings together Australia’s leading researchers, practitioners and organisations in suicide prevention and amplifies the voices of those with lived experience.

The LiFE Awards winners will be announced at the conference welcome reception event on Wednesday 24 July.
The welcome reception will feature performers from the Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus.
The LiFE Awards are a celebration of the outstanding work done within the Australian suicide prevention sector.

For more information on the conference please subscribe to the SPA newsletter to receive updates on the program and notification of the call for nominations for the LIFE Awards at http://suicidepreventionaust.org/conferences/.

Abstracts will be accepted until 15 April 2013.

LiFE Award nominations will be accepted until 22 April 2013.
Online registration will be available until 19 July 2013.

The Department of Health has funded Caraniche to provide a series of free two-day training workshops for forensic AOD clinicians, workers and case managers working with ACSO clients or other substance using clients with current or past histories of offending behaviour. The training will look at a range of personality, system and clinical factors that impact on work with the client group. Topics to be covered include:

· Understanding substance use and offending behaviour, and forensic AOD treatment in Victoria

· Working with Corrections, appropriate documentation , and court reports

· Understanding anti-social personality and boundaries

· Understanding the prison experience and working with parolees

The flyer can be downloaded here

The two-day training program will be delivered on consecutive days across Victoria at 3 metropolitan and 5 regional locations. The first round of trainings will take place in Sunshine on April 29 and 30. Other locations and dates to follow:

· Sunshine – April 29 and 30 (Mon/Tues)

· Geelong – May 13 and 14 (Mon/Tues)

· Wangaratta – May 27 and 28 (Mon/Tues)

· Bendigo – TBC

· Dandenong – TBC

· Preston – TBC

· Sale – TBC

· Ballarat – TBC

Details on the dates for other locations will be posted on our website (www.caraniche.com.au) and VAADA news.

You can secure a place in any one of the trainings by emailing training or telephone 03 8412 7111. Remember to include name of attendees, contact details and location in the email.

We look forward to hearing from you