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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-17 Daily Xml
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DRUG AND ALCOHOL SERVICES

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:15): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the minister representing the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse concerning the policies of Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: I have been made aware of a significant number of independent reports from reliable sources and individuals about advice given and decisions made by various employees of Drug and Alcohol Services of South Australia. Actions by DASSA reported to me include a decision to include a prescription to return an addict's methadone dose to a previously high level, where the dosage had been successfully reduced without any adverse effect to the patient, and advice given to the effect that DASSA did not have an objective that the addicts under their care should become drug free in any sense at all and that it would be best for the addict to continue taking addictive drugs in the long term, according to some staff members.

The thrust of these reports was fortified by a recent freedom of information request by myself, which indicated that there were no documents held by DASSA to indicate how many people on methadone programs were successful in becoming drug free. They simply do not bother to keep records whether the program works or not. My questions are:

1. Can the minister give an assurance to this house, and indeed to the other place, that the objective of DASSA is for treatment to result in the person becoming drug free where that is possible?

2. What documentary material exists by which the policy objectives of drug treatment programs are communicated to employees of DASSA and, indeed, the public?

3. Is the minister aware of instances where employees of DASSA have given advice or made decisions contrary to a policy objective of becoming drug free, or indeed contrary to government policy?

4. Why does DASSA not even record the number of people who are able to finish a methadone treatment program and become drug free, and will the minister insist that they begin to do so immediately?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:17): I thank the member for his important questions and I will refer them to the Hon. Mr John Hill, the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, and he will hopefully get an answer back as soon as possible.

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