ENDEAVOUR HILLS HALLAM DOVETON
endeavourhillshallamdoveton.starcommunity.com.au
/DandenongJournal
Tuesday, 5 September, 2023
@StarJournal_SE
Cheaper housing call
Truck of the future
White Star shines
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Tree fight grows
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Arresting art on show Endeavour Hills police station has been brightened with paintings from local school students. Police Constable Tahery, is pictured with some of the works.
Picture: GARY SISSONS
Report reveals alarming numbers in Greater Dandenong .....
Overdose crisis By Sahar Foladi An alarming report by the Pennington Institute has demonstrated staggering numbers of accidental overdoses in Greater Dandenong, begging for urgent policy reform. The report tracked data as far back as 2001, with Penington Institute’s CEO John Ryan saying the report findings are a cause of concern for all Australians. “It is no exaggeration to talk about an over-
dose crisis. Overdose deaths in Australia have exceeded the road toll since 2014, and we see little to no action to demonstrably change this,” Mr Ryan said. Greater Dandenong has topped the list in Victoria from 2007-2016 with a total of 134 deaths. From 2017 to 2021, there were 86 unintentional overdose deaths in the municipality, 100 for Geelong and 84 in Frankston. “I’m a big believer in looking at a patient’s history of prescriptions and drug abuse. That
should be something on record and considered with every prescription,” Dandenong resident Jacqui Swallow said. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2002 and with it also came intense depression and anxiety. In an attempt to suicide in 2020, she’d overdosed on mood stabiliser pills, Valium and Olanzapine after a conversation over the phone with Beyond Blue. Fortunately, through the recognition of her
tone, emergency services were called by Beyond Blue and Ms Swallow was treated right away. “Pharmacies can do Webster Packs where patients only receive weeks’ worth of medicine at a time and I believe that should be compulsory for medications prone to be abused.” The report presents a grim reality where six Australians lose their lives to overdoses every day - one every four hours. Continued page 6
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