PRES RELEASE: 22/08/2022
A Note from Steven Bailey
Treatment Denied-Australia is a harm reduction initiative designed to assist people who are seeking help to navigate the systemic stigma and institutional roadblocks associated with substance use. TDA stems from my advocacy in drug law reform and mental health in the Australian Capital Territory, which began in 2014 with a dedicated volunteer team - the ACT branch of the Australian Sex Party.
We aim to be an ally of any harm reduction organisation or service.
In order to grow our knowledge base, we consult with the community, people with a lived experience substance use, medical professionals, pharmacy, Government, NGOs, and universities.
I couple my political experience and my lived experience with a prescription opioid dependence to help people maintain or find the most appropriate healthcare.
The purpose of TDA is to not only be another voice in the growing chorus of health professionals for the implementation of evidence-based drug law reform, but to be a malleable source of support that can respond to, and enhance, the campaigns of other established NGOs and individuals who suffer the pain and stigma substance use disorders.
About half a million people in Australia struggle with substance use disorders, and this is a fast-moving area of medical, cultural, and humanitarian discourse.
TDA will amplify the voices of those who suffer in silence; assist with the projects and campaigns of NFPs; lobby the Governments of Australia; and shine a light on why medical treatment is denied to so many people who need it.
In time to come, I believe, and I hope, that we as a society will look back in shame, not only on the failed war on drugs, but on how we punished, persecuted, and discarded the hopes and dignity of so many fellow human beings who only wanted to be accepted for who they are.
I give regular public speeches and direct a team of three.
Please feel free to contact me directly at <stevenbailey@treatmentdenied-australia.org>
if you or a loved one arE struggling with prescription medications, we may be able to help
Treatment Denied-Australia committed to the principles of harm reduction, and is for the tens of thousands of people who are looking for medical help with a substance issue or addiction, only to have a doctor deny them treatment. Sometimes, a GP really cannot help. But when a GP has prescribed you addictive medication and then refuses to help you when you are having a bit of trouble trying not to take it, that’s when lives can be lost.
A GP, and some other prescribers, can write you, your children, or another loved one, a lethal dose of opioids (oxycodone, Oxycontin, tapentadol/Palexia, etc.) or benzodiazepines (diazepam/Valium, oxazepam/Serepax, Temazepam/Temaze, Lorazepam/Ativan and others) sometimes for a very good reason. With S8 opioid pain relief, you may receive a script with enough medication for a few days, two-weeks, four-weeks or, in some cases, for three-months.
If your GP then refuses to help you stop taking an addictive medication or, even worse, stops prescribing these types of medication abruptly without giving you a chance to taper your dose down slowly, we would like to hear from you because we may be able to help.
We're interested in listening to you and helping if we can. If we can't help you directly, there are some other great organisations like Harm Reduction Victoria and Turning Point in Victoria, and Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation & Advocacy in the ACT to which we can refer you.
We have compiled a list of GPs and pharmacies in Melbourne and Canberra that provide pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence such as Suboxone and other buprenorphine treatments, Methadone treatments, and others.
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