Reducing the risk
Needle and syringe programmes (NSPs) have been helping drug users obtain safe injecting equipment and advice for more than 20 years. With an estimated 150,000-200,000 injecting drug users within the UK, these programmes have an important role in tackling the spread of viruses, including hepatitis C and HIV, and helping drug users to access further treatment.
The evidence shows that not only are NSPs an effective way of tackling blood-borne viruses among injecting drug users, they also save the NHS and the public sector money.
In February 2009, NICE produced guidance that explains how NSPs can operate most effectively, for example by looking at whether they are open at the best times for drug users to access them, whether they are in the right places and whether they provide the right services.
Colin Bradbury, Treatment Delivery Manager at the National Treatment Agency (NTA) for Substance Misuse, said: "The NTA welcomes this guidance as needle and syringe programmes are an essential element of the balanced drug treatment system advocated by NICE. Needle and syringe programmes, particularly when used in conjunction with substitute prescribing, are an effective means of reducing the risk of HIV and changing injecting behaviour.
"This publication complements the full suite of NICE guidance on drug treatment, which says local services should have a range of interventions available to tackle drug misuse, including harm reduction services, substitute prescribing and abstinence-orientated drugtreatment."
This page was last updated: 12 August 2009
