Information for people accessing injecting equipment in the Scottish Borders

Injecting equipment is available from:

When you attend for the first time you should be asked some questions to make sure the service is able to
provide you with the right equipment and you leave with enough supplies to have one set of equipment for every time you inject.

Questions will include:

• How often you inject?
• Where you inject?
• How often do you usually visit the injecting equipment provision service?
• Whether you are collecting supplies for anyone else You should also receive information about how to inject safely.

Disposing of your used equipment

It is extremely important that you use the sharps bin provided to safely dispose of your needles and other drug related litter. These services are in place to help keep you safe, but also the wider community.

Sharps bins should be returned to your injecting equipment provider when collecting clean equipment.
Unsafe disposal of needles can pose real hazards to people, increase stigma towards people who use drugs.

Damage to veins

Good injecting techniques help to prevent infection and damage to veins. If you are concerned about your
technique or want advice on how to protect your veins, speak to a member of staff from We Are With You: tel: 01896 757843 who can provide you with information.

Blood Borne Viruses (BBV)

To protect against the spread of blood borne viruses (HIV, Hepatitis A, B or C), it is very important not to share any of your injecting equipment (including filters, spoons, cookers etc).

To reduce the risks, you can access information, advice, and testing for BBV on request at the following services:

• We Are With You tel: 01896 757843
• NHS Borders Addiction Service tel: 01896 664430
• Local Sexual health Clinic or GP: Vaccination against Hepatitis A and B can be arranged also through these services.

Keeping children safe

• Medicines, illicit drugs, and injecting equipment are all hazardous and pose potential risks to children
• All of these things should be kept safely out of reach and wherever possible in a locked cabinet.

Opiates (e.g. heroin, buprenorphine and methadone) use can lead to accidental overdose, particularly if injected. Additional risk factors can include mixing drugs and alcohol when tolerance is low (it only takes a few days for your tolerance to heroin to drop).

Naloxone is a medicine that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opiate overdose and is available free of charge to anyone at risk of opiate overdose. You can access information, training and supply of naloxone at one of the drop in clinics held across the Borders by calling NHS Borders Addiction Service on tel:01896 664430 or We Are With You on tel:01896 757843.

There are three drug and alcohol services in the Scottish Borders: NHS Borders Addiction Service; We Are With You and CHIMES.

Telephone: 01896 664430

Support to anyone 16yrs and over with drug/alcohol dependency and physical/mental health needs.

• Psychological Therapies
• Substitute prescribing
• Access to in-patient and community detoxification
• Assessment for rehabilitation
• Take Home Naloxone Kits

We Are With You in Borders Telephone: 0800 028 6664 (Freephone)

Support to anyone 16yrs and over concerned about their own drug or alcohol use or someone else’s.

• One to one and group support to help you cut down, stop or maintain abstinence
• Employment support
• Injecting Equipment/Blood Borne Virus Tests
• Take Home Naloxone Kits
• Support for adult family members affected

Action for Children / CHIMES Service Telephone: 01896 750173

Support to children and young people (all ages) impacted by a family member’s alcohol and/or drug use (parent, grandparent, older sibling etc)

• Concerned Others
• Parents with concerns about their drug/alcohol use including expectant parents