Mobile overdose response service

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The Mobile Overdose Response Service offers non-fatal overdose survivors support, information and assistance with access to rehabilitation services. The Service offers mobile non-medical support to ambulance officers and emergency department staff who encounter people who have overdosed. Referrals to the service also come from users, families and friends, support and user groups, needle and syringe programs and health services.

Target group

The target group of the service are individuals in areas where there are high levels of street drug use, who have recently experienced an overdose. This will include individuals who have been treated by ambulance services/hospital or received no treatment for the overdose and will consist of poly drug users, recreational and dependent users.

Locations

The Service has been established in each of the six major drug ‘hot spot’ areas that experience high levels of street drug use: Melbourne Central Business District (CBD), Box Hill, Dandenong/Springvale, Footscray, Collingwood/Richmond and St. Kilda.

Key service requirements

• Provide non-medical care, monitoring, support and debriefing to people who have experienced an overdose, with crisis intervention, as appropriate;
  
  
• Act as backup support to ambulance officers and emergency department staff;
  
  
• Operate on a 5-day per week basis during the times targeted to the client group behaviour and that corresponds to the period which most overdoses occur. From available data on the time of day that non fatal overdoses occur, the Service should operate from Tuesday to Saturday, with one 8 hour shift to be established within the time frame of 11am and 11pm;
  
  
• Operate in a centralised and convenient location for the client group in the areas of high street drug use;
  
  
• Employ staff that are trained and experienced in First Aid, assessment and monitoring, debriefing techniques, referral work and crisis intervention, and staff that are able to work in critical hours as described above;
  
  
• Be widely advertised to ambulance and emergency services, drug user groups, family support groups, needle and syringe services, and health services; and
  
  
• Facilitate referrals and connections between clients and drug treatment services.

More information

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