DRUG abuse in Wyndham is driving up crime and adding strain on the hospital system, as new figures show a sharp rise in ambulance call-outs.
Latest data from Ambulance Victoria reveals the number of call-outs across Wyndham for the highly addictive crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as ‘ice’, more than doubled within a 12-month period.
Paramedics were called to 19 crystal meth cases in the municipality in 2011-12, compared to nine a year earlier. Statewide, there were 592 crystal meth call-outs last year, up from 282.
Turning Point alcohol and drug centre researcher Belinda Lloyd said the rise in crystal meth cases was alarming, and warned it could cause severe mental and physical effects. The drug has been linked to stroke, heart failure and violent episodes of psychosis and paranoia.
Inspector Damian Christensen of Wyndham police said officers were often put into dangerous situations when confronting ice addicts.
“It’s the very erratic nature of people we have to deal with, whether it’s domestic violence, or someone who is ‘coming down’,” he said. “We have to do a proper risk assessment, which can often be difficult with the limited information from calls that come in, and we have to make some pretty quick decisions.”
Mercy Public Hospitals executive director Linda Mellors said methamphetamine use was a growing problem and users of the drug could often be aggressive towards emergency department staff.
Werribee Mercy this year received a $500,000 grant from the state government to help it better respond to drug-affected patients, which Dr Mellors said would be used to recruit specialist staff.
Magistrate John Bentley, who regularly sits at Werribee Magistrates Court, said ice had become a “very serious problem” in Wyndham and was inflicting a great deal of harm on the community.
Across Wyndham there was a 46 per cent increase in alcohol-related ambulance call-outs, from 142 to 208 last year, while heroin calls were up 52 per cent and cannabis calls 22 per cent.
