There are five critical issues captured in this Report.
- The COVID-19 pandemic continued to have an impact on Tasmanians who use ATODs during January 2021. Alcohol continues to be the primary drug of concern for which people sought treatment during this time, followed by tobacco.
- The number of Tasmanians being supported by services has remained stable and calls to telephone hotlines continue to be above-average. There were 1,200 Tasmanians who received support during January 2021. This number has remained stable, indicating that services continue to operate at capacity. Reported calls to telephone information and support hotlines continue to be above-average / steadily increasing.
- The number of Tasmanians waiting to access counselling and residential rehabilitation services has reduced alongside a steep increase in demand for education and information programs. There were 538 Tasmanians waiting to access services and programs. The majority of these individuals were waiting to access drug education and information sessions. The reduction in the number of Tasmanians waiting for counselling and residential rehabilitation services is due to the redistribution of existing staffing resources at a major treatment provider, which has been effective reduce the number of individuals waiting.
- Community managed organisations delivering ATOD services across Tasmania continue to respond to demand but staff wellbeing and fatigue continues to be a concern.
- Configuration of services to respond to the pandemic is less evident with organisational changes previously introduced to respond to the pandemic becoming integrated as business-as-usual (with a small number of services continuing to adapt their online and virtual services).
This report is the third of eight and captures information for January 2021.
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