The controversial axing of a trusted Dunedin needle-exchange service has led to a rise in needle reuse in the city’s drug community, a new report has found.
University of Otago research fellow Dr Geoff Noller’s report assesses the needle exchange’s performance since the service was officially taken over by the South Island-wide health collective Te Waipounamu in October.
It previously had been held by the DISC Trust — at the time of the handover, the Otago Daily Times reported a lot of ‘‘confusion’’, although many of DISC’s workers secured positions with the new provider.
Dr Noller’s report, released late last month, outlines many of the issues with the handover.
Among the issues raised by clientele were the fact the new provider did not initially supply enough equipment to meet the demand. One client interviewed said ‘‘nearly everyone is reusing at the moment’’, while another said entering the new premises was ‘‘like doing a walk of shame’’.
Other clients questioned the new provider’s experience in working with people who inject drugs. Of the people surveyed, nearly half said they were using again and sharing equipment.
Many were not comfortable with the new premises having an ‘‘overriding focus on abstinence, which is not consistent with a client-centred harm reduction model’’.
‘‘There are clear clinical implications for the increase in risk behaviours — especially increased reuse and sharing — that has accompanied the change in provider,’’ Dr Noller’s report said.
Dr Noller told the ODT yesterday the fact people still visited the DISC trust’s premises for needle issues, despite the fact the trust no longer had the contract in Dunedin, put everyone in a difficult position and Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) needed to intervene.
‘‘If there is a service or an organisation that is involving itself in that work, then it seems reasonably obvious that that service, if it’s a reliable service, and DISC has shown to be so for over 30 years, it should have the opportunity to be an alternative provider.
‘‘It may not be a needle exchange as such, but if it’s an alternative provider it has permission to provide free, clean, sterile injecting equipment to people who want to use it.
‘‘Pharmacies provide equipment, of course, but they’re not alternative providers, they are pharmacies.’’
Many of those still visiting DISC’s premises in Dunedin and Christchurch were ‘‘in a very difficult financial situation and they can’t afford to pay for anything’’.
‘‘So there were all those tensions coming up, and for those reasons, DISC tried to help ... even though they weren’t official needle exchange sites.’’
DISC executive director Philippa Jones said the report ‘‘confirms and quantifies what we see and hear from clients all around the South Island’’.
‘‘We are very concerned about sharing and reusing injecting equipment as this creates a very serious personal and public health risk.
‘‘Many of our clients are continuing to access injecting equipment from us (which we fund from our reserves), along with our other harm reduction services such as drug checking and hepatitis C and HIV screening.’’
She confirmed DISC had applied to become a needle exchange ‘‘alternative provider’’, which would enable the organisation to provide equipment free of charge to clients.
‘‘This typically has been a straightforward process. However, we have been advised all current applications are on hold.
‘‘We believe that Dr Noller’s report is compelling evidence in support of our application and we look forward to receiving a positive outcome very soon.’’
When approached about the report, Te Waipounamu deferred all media inquiries to HNZ.
Health New Zealand director for Starting Well Deborah Woodley said it was ‘‘mindful that inaccurate or incomplete information about the new provider affects confidence in the service’’.
‘‘We are exploring ways to counter misinformation, and build awareness of the service, ways to access free injecting equipment, and harm reduction advice and support.’’
The contract had been previously held by the DISC Trust and some of the staff moved over to the new service.
However, DISC has reported clientelle still using their services, and they have applied with HNZ to be an alternative provider in order to help with the situation.
Ms Woodley did not mention this application in her response.
‘‘The new site in Dunedin is less than 5 minutes’ walk from the old site, and in addition the new provider continues to support DISC with equipment for their vending machine in Dunedin, Christchurch and Nelson.
‘‘He Waka Tapu (the Canterbury lead provider) will be opening a new fixed site in mid-2026 within the city centre and this will help improve access for people who inject drugs.’’
The new provider in the South Island has been in place since October 2025.
‘‘The first monitoring report from Te Waipounamu Collective (covering period November 1 to December 31, 2025) shows close to 210,000 needles being distributed, 400 unique individuals have accessed the service since opening on 1 October 2025 - a third of whom identify as Māori,’’ Ms Woodley said.
‘‘Health New Zealand does not have concerns that the new service will lead to an increase needle sharing/reuse in blood-borne diseases or needle-use injuries among people who inject drugs but will continue to monitor the situation closely.
‘‘Nor does Health NZ have any concerns that Te Waipounmau Collective offer a range of health services, including abstinence programmes.’’
