A sad day for Tasmania when TasCAHRD aren't running the NSP's in hobart anymore. I hope that the new staff are as nice & FRIENDLY and skilled as theTasCAHRD staff are/were. ThankYou for all the advice & support over the many years that I have accessed your service. I often wonder what the BBV's rates among Injecting Drug Users would be, if you were not doing the invaluable NSP work that you have done for all the years?

THankYou TasCAHRD

Thanks for this post Brett. Please be reassured we have not taken this decision lightly as TasCAHRD was the first organisation in Tasmanian to start a needle exchange, as it was know back then. We will however aim to continue to play a role behind the scenes with NSPs throughout Tassie.

While it is not known yet which organisation will be taking over in Hobart and Glenorchy, we are committed to ensuring a smooth transition....and who knows, some of those familiar faces may be there with the new operators. We will also still have a role when it comes to BBVs and HIV, the original reason for setting up NSPs.

One things we considered was - people who access the NSPs generally need more than clean equipment and info about hepatitis or HIV. There are many issues the people we see raise with us that we are not equipped or skilled to respond to.

Change is not always a bad thing and we are hoping that in the long run this will be a positive one.

If anyone has any questions please don't hesitate to ask us.

Kevin Marriott