‘In harm’s way’: The pandemic drug use that most concerns one WA rehab facility

The head of one of WA’s biggest alcohol and drug treatment services is pleading for coronavirus testing to be extended to those entering rehabilitation centres during the pandemic, with concerns a rise in alcohol use will see more people seeking help.

Cyrenian House CEO Carol Daws said it was frustrating having to turn clients away or ask them to wait for admission into one of the organisation’s three residential facilities.

Ordinarily Cyrenian House can provide alcohol and drug treatment for up to 104 people at either their Nannup, Rockingham, or Perth centres.

But social distancing and quarantine regulations have seen the organisation forced to reduce the number of clients they can accept.

It’s a concern for Ms Daws, who wants to be able to provide help for more people.

“We’re really pushing for the government to allow us to test all of our clients going into residential treatment - even if they’re asymptomatic,” she said.

“It makes sense.

“We could get more people in.”

Ms Daws said any new client entering Cyrenian House residential programs currently had to be isolated for two weeks, and rooms were being kept aside in case anyone already in treatment contracted COVID-19.

“People are still presenting, but we can’t take in that many at the moment,” she said.

“We’re obviously wanting to offer people access to treatment, and we’re still seeing people in our residential facilities, but we’ve slowed it down because we’ve had to look at how we protect the closed community.

“It’s problematic and very frustrating.”

Of particular concern to Ms Daws was the increase in alcohol consumption during the lockdown of the past six weeks.

Data released in April showed one-in-five Australians had purchased more alcohol than usual during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the majority drinking more and having concerns about their alcohol use and the drinking of others in their household.

Polling commissioned by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), showed 20 per cent of Australians bought more alcohol than usual, with 70 per cent drinking more than normal, with a third using alcohol daily.

“Alcohol sales are up over the past month and while the alcohol industry wants you to believe that people aren’t actually drinking that alcohol, this research reveals the truth,” FARE chief Caterina Giorgi said.

“Increased drinking by people worried about COVID-19 might be good news for alcohol industry executives, but it’s certainly worrying news for our community’s health.”

Ms Giorgi said governments needed to be taking action now to ensure harms from alcohol didn’t continue to increase.

“We need to get ahead of this before it’s too late and this involves action from governments across the country to address the alcohol industry’s aggressive marketing practices, place limits on late night and rapid online alcohol product delivery, boost funding for our alcohol and other drug services and provide messages to the public on how to reduce the risks from drinking alcohol as part of their current public health campaigns,” she said.

Even more worrying than the rise in alcohol consumption was the tendency for drug users who may be finding it difficult to source their usual substance of choice to mix drinking with other substances, according to the Cyrenian House chief.

“My concern is if [people] can’t get [their] normal substances, drug users can then pick up substances they wouldn’t ordinarily use, such as pills,” Ms Daws said.

“Added to that with extra alcohol, it’s really quite concerning and potentially putting themselves more in harm’s way.”

Cureently in WA people are eligible for testing if they meet any of the following criteria:

• presenting with a fever (≥38°C) or
• a recent history of a fever (e.g. night sweats, chills) or
• an acute respiratory infection e.g. shortness of breath, cough, sore throat.

State school students and staff as well as FIFO workers are also being tested through the state government's DETECT program.

If you are concerned about your own or a loved one's drug or alcohol use, help can be found here.