A shortage of doctors working in Canberra's methadone program is exacerbating delays for heroin users desperately seeking help to overcome their addiction.
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Drug users are currently faced with a two to three-week wait to access opioid treatment in the ACT. That average wait time is described as the lowest in the country by ACT Health and is far better than areas such as Newcastle, where waits of up to two years have been reported.
But drug user advocacy groups say heroin addicts often need same-day treatment and that the physical, emotional and psychological difficulties of waiting up to three weeks are often too much for users.
Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy manager Nicole Wiggins said the wait heightens the risk that desperate users may find themselves caught up in the justice system, or overdose, before they get help.
Heroin users must be assessed by a doctor before they can be placed on a methadone program.
Ms Wiggins said there is only one full-time and several part-time doctors looking after roughly 500 clients in Canberra's methadone clinic at the Canberra Hospital.
''The problem is there's a shortage of doctors,'' she said.
''There are places on the program but people need to get a long doctor's appointment before they can get onto the program - it's about an hour or hour-and-a-half appointment.''
The problem is particularly acute during Christmas and other holiday periods. One recent Christmas, Ms Wiggins said, the doctor shortage was forcing addicts to wait until February to be seen.
ACT Health allows special population groups to be moved into the program within 24 hours, including pregnant women, couples with a child under the age of two, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, released prisoners, HIV and Hepatitis B sufferers and those on a diversion program from the justice system.
The alliance believes that more clients need to be put through general practitioners and community healthcare centres to reduce the delays to the program.
About 400 clients are currently looked after by 57 doctors in the community through standard healthcare centres and clinics, Ms Wiggins said.
GPs can prescribe methadone for five people without any additional training and can prescribe for more after completing a specialist training course.
But Ms Wiggins said methadone treatment is not an attractive option for many in the medical community.
She said the delays can have dire consequences for users.
''It's a long time. If someone needs drug treatment, they need it that day,'' she said.
''A lot can change in two to three weeks - people can overdose and die, or they'd be quite physically ill.
''They have to keep buying illegal heroin or morphine to keep themselves going, so there's the risk of what they're doing to get that money.''
Ms Wiggins said the methadone program was extremely successful and frequently helped people overcome their addictions and turn their lives around.