Mobile safe injecting facilities in Barcelona and Berlin

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2012.02.006

International Journal of Drug Policy

Volume 23, Issue 4, July 2012, Pages 257-260

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2012.02.006 Get rights and content

Section snippets

Setting

Both Barcelona (pop 1.5 million) and Berlin (pop 3.5 million) are major European cities with established drug markets that have run since the 1970s. Recent estimates suggest that there are around 7000 PWID in Barcelona (5000 regular injectors and 2000 occasional injectors; Sánchez-Niubò, Domingo-Salvany, Melis, Brugal, & Scalia-Tomba, 2007), and between 8000 and 10,000 in Berlin (Senatsverwaltung für Gesundheit, 2008). Neither city has one large public drug scene; rather in a number of

Mobile SIFs in Barcelona and Berlin

The mobile SIFs in both Barcelona (Fig. 1, Fig. 2) and Berlin (Fig. 3, Fig. 4) are comprised of especially fitted-out vans, with three injection booths. Two vehicles in Berlin are housed in Fixpunkt premises overnight and then currently head to one of two locations; Bahnhof Zoo (Friday–Saturday, 14.00–18.00) and Stuttgarter Platz (Monday, 14.00–18.00). Other sites (Kurfürstenstraße, Moritzplatz) have been served in the past, and possible additional locations are discussed from time to time. In

Community relationships

As indicated, the mobile SIFs are run by NGOs on behalf of municipal authorities. The mobile resources in Barcelona are coordinated with ‘other drugs’ resources under the umbrella of the Drug Action Plan of the City of Barcelona. This plan, approved by consensus of all political groups that make up the City Council of Barcelona, provides technical coordination among the Public Health Agency district councils’ officials and security forces. Widespread consultation with all neighbourhood

General issues

The general principles behind the operation of the services we have described are the same as those evident in fixed-site SIFs (Kimber et al., 2005). However, there are obvious differences between the mobile facilities we have described and fixed-site services, highlighting questions in relation to mobile SIFs that require further research and evaluation.

First, with only 3 booths the throughput of PWID on any given day is more limited than these larger fixed-site services. For example, the

Concluding remarks

It is important for harm reduction interventions to adapt to different circumstances according to local conditions. Services need to evolve as drug market conditions change over time and/or place, for example as a result of police operations. In this editorial we have described two mobile SIFs that present as a specific response to questions raised about SIFs by Rhodes et al. (2006). The services operating in Berlin and Barcelona share many features and are clearly able to provide service to

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the staff and clients of the mobile SIFs in the two cities along with the contribution to this work of the Victorian Operational Infrastructure Support Program. PD is supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship, AP by a Sidney Myer Postgraduate Scholarship and RW by an NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship and the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence into Injecting Drug Use.

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EditorialMobile safe injecting facilities in Barcelona and Berlin

Section snippets

Setting

Mobile SIFs in Barcelona and Berlin

Community relationships

General issues

Concluding remarks

Acknowledgements

International Journal of Drug Policy

Gaceta Sanitaria

Take home naloxone and the prevention of deaths from opiate overdose: Two pilot schemes

BMJ

Drug consumption facilities: An update since 2000

Drug and Alcohol Review

Survey of drug consumption rooms: Service delivery and perceived public health and amenity impact

Drug and Alcohol Review

Process and predictors of drug treatment referral and referral uptake at the Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre

Drug and Alcohol Review

Enabling environments and the reduction of drug-related harm: Re-framing Australian policy and practice

Drug and Alcohol Review

Editorial
Mobile safe injecting facilities in Barcelona and Berlin