Debate
Contemplating a landscape of change and fear , HIT Hot Topics speakers called for solidarity . DDN reports , pics by Nigel Brunsdon
Across the greAt
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When we meet someone , we ask what music they listen to – it gives us a mirror we can understand . We start to apply labels ‘ us and them ’ as soon as we start to talk that language .’ Talking at the recent Hit Hot Topics conference , epidemiologist Keith Sabin suggested that we being to categorise and stigmatise without even realising it .
Even the researchers were part of the problem . ‘ We put people in a box and say “ these people are higher risk ”. It ’ s a dichotomy that doesn ’ t need to exist . We have to overcome this language , because language becomes a perception .’
With Donald Trump ’ s election victory newly sinking in , the threat of division and alienation felt raw to many of the speakers and delegates .
‘ The war on drugs is an efficient and effective umbrella for genocide ,’ said US activist Deborah Peterson Small . ‘ The goal is to eliminate people , and what ’ s happening in the Philippines is the logical extension . It ’ s not just the actions of a mad man – it ’ s happening all over the world … if you think Duterte is an aberration , think again . Read your history – all the conditions before World War Two are in place now .’
Furthermore , she said , the media talked about ‘ this stuff ’ as if it was normal . ‘ But Trump and his hostility to drugs and drug policy is no joke .’
So what do we do to stop this slide into the abyss ? Neuroscientist Dr Carl Hart drew a positive from the shock election result .
‘ The progressives fell asleep under the Obama administration … maybe now they ’ ll wake up !’ he said . ‘ We claimed victories for things that weren ’ t victories . You know the score with Trump . It ’ s best to know the score than to hear pretty lies . Go to work !’
For many of the speakers , the challenges were very clear . Magdalena Harris , qualitative sociologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine , brought scrutiny to the complicated scenario of hepatitis C treatment .
For the 216,000 people living with chronic hepatitis C in the UK , the revolutionary new treatment was giving them the opportunity of a 90 to 100 per cent cure rate , without the former gruelling side effects . Being able to dispense the treatment in community drug treatment settings conjured up the vision of eliminating hepatitis C in a generation .
But restricted budgets , and a list price of around £ 35,000 per person per course ( although the price to the NHS was confidential ), meant that NHS England had limited treatment slots to 10,000 a year . The 22 local area networks had just 50 slots each a month , so were having to prioritise patients with the
greatest clinical need , such as those with cirrhosis . People who inject drugs came high up on the priority list – but only because they were seen as at risk of transmitting the virus , Harris explained . ‘ They are being called transmitters and tracked like salmon . This language can be very alienating .’ While reducing mortality and onward transmission were clear criteria , Harris was also concerned that other life transforming benefits of treatment were not being acknowledged , such as the change to identity and the social benefits . It was easy to lose the full picture when looking at statistics and ranking greatest clinical need .
Faye McCrory , a recently retired consultant midwife , said we should cast the net wide for the full picture .
‘ What has a midwife to do with drug services ?’ she said , before answering ‘ Drug misuse does not sit in isolation .’ Her challenge while working at a specialist midwifery service was to get staff to treat patients ‘ as women , not as drug users and prostitutes ’.
Many taboos had had an impact on these women – sexual abuse , child sexual exploitation , human trafficking , sharing information , safeguarding and child protection – and there were many ethical and moral dilemmas that meant health professionals should listen without prejudice .
Researcher Aaron Goodman also had an interesting
DR SUZI GAGE |
DR CARL HART |
AARON GOODMAN |
FAYE MCCRORY |
DEBORAH SMALL |
MICHAEL S |
6 | drinkanddrugsnews | February 2017 www . drinkanddrugsnews . com