The Pink Palace NEX for the 21 st Century

“I’ve got a taxi waiting…” One at a time Physical space unwelcoming and uncomfortable for users and workers Shared entrance with those in treatment, including relatives & carers Room also used for duty calls and crisis interventions Queue in the corridor created a perceived need to hurry up Works hidden away

What were we doing wrong? Service user reviews were irregular, uninformative and lay dormant Campaigns were pre-scheduled and often did not meet the current needs of IDUs We couldn’t track trends in drug use

Physical Changes NEX moved across the street, with a discreet entrance, just for IDUs Accessible by parents with pushchairs Decorated in an open-planned, trendy style Works on open display in baskets Privacy available in a separate room No queue

Peer Education Empowers Promotes discussion Engages service uses and encourages participation Strengthens messages and weakens misinformation

Service Provision Two Physical Health Nurses providing daily sessions Separate duty cover daily from 1-5pm Immediate referral to treatment services Evening session Collaborative working within Bradford Needle Exchange Scheme, training pharmacy staff in NEX delivery

Campaigns Began monitoring the subjects of conversations and interventions to identify current issues Campaigns now designed to be responsive to these issues Campaigns are consequently more timely, more relevant and more visually arresting

Reviews Made compulsory at 6 month intervals Forms expanded to ask more questions, designed to maximise our knowledge Risk assessment score matrices developed for each major drug of injection Each IDU has a Risk Score applied to reflect the level of risk they take in using their drugs Individualised Harm Reduction Plan

Risk Database Developed to track changes for both the individual and the district as a whole To allow easy identification of IDUs who take specific risks To develop targeted campaigns towards those individuals Evolved into Action Research, enabling more accurate reporting of trends in injecting drug use in the district Enabled us to better meet the needs of every service user

For the first time, we are able to measure the effectiveness of our Harm Reduction interventions and report outcomes for every NEX user

Timelines Each IDU will have a graph timeline which maps the shifting pattern of their substance use

NEX NEWS Quarterly newsletter developed to communicate our Action Research findings, promote services offered by Project 6 and deliver Harm Reduction messages