NEWS DESK
Solutions sought for methadone patients
GRAFFITI on a Peninsula Link overpass. Picture: Gary Sissons
Rage at road vandalism VANDALISM along the Peninsula Link Freeway is getting out of control, Frankston councillors say. At their most recent public meeting councillors agreed to write to Southern Way, which built the road, expressing concern about graffiti and other mess. Councillor David Asker said the graffiti “is just atrocious, and I for one am not going to put up with it any longer.” He singled out the train crossing as an area of particular concern. Peninsula Link is operated and maintained by Service Stream on behalf of Southern Way - it is under a 25-year agreement to look after the road. A statement from Service Stream read “littering and graffiti are ongoing issues along Peninsula Link, affecting both the highway itself and the broader community. Peninsula Link have a
number of contractual obligations which we continue to meet. These include the prompt removal of offensive graffiti and we aim to remove all other graffiti within a week. With regard to litter, Peninsula Link carry out a weekly program of litter removal and a monthly program of road sweeping activities along the length of the freeway. “Additionally, a team of asset inspectors conduct daily inspections of the network to ensure Peninsula Link fulfills its obligations to the state and to detect any other issues requiring rectification. Please note the Stony Point Rail Bridge is not maintained by Peninsula Link,” the statement read. Councillor Glenn Aitken also voiced worry at the state of the road. “This is the gateway and the face of our city
- because so many people come to Frankston or depart from Frankston along these very trafficways that in many ways are just infernal garbage dumps,” he said. The motion approved by councillors read that they would write to Southern Way Pty Ltd “expressing concern with the state of a number of sites along the Peninsula Link arterial where vandalism, wear-and-tear, and graffiti have become pronounced (i.e. Cranbourne Road turn-off and the nearby pedestrian bridge) to both road users and people utilising neighbouring walking paths”. The letter will request that “Southern Way Holdings Pty Ltd improve the condition of locations where the above impediments are in existence in a timely and meaningful manner”. Brodie Cowburn
THE state government says it is working to provide free pharmacotherapy training for GPs so that more people can access the prescriptions they need. The planned closure of the private Frankston Healthcare Medical Centre has left hundreds of pharmacotherapy patients in limbo. The centre’s director says that it treats between 400 and 500 patients a week on methadone, sublocade, and suboxone. (“Drug treatment access a big problem” The Times 2/10/2023) Private medical practices are overwhelmingly carrying the load of pharmacotherapy services in Victoria. A Monash University report released last February found that 50 of Victoria’s 14,804 pharmacotherapy patients were in the public system. In question time last week, Libertarian Party MP David Limbrick asked the state government what it was doing to support patients affected by the planned closure. Mental health minister Ingrid Stitt said that more funding had been offered to the centre and that more GPs would be trained to treat pharmacotherapy patients. “The funding of GP pharmacotherapy treatments is the responsibility of the Commonwealth. However, the Victorian government have wanted to ensure that there are no gaps in the services that are provided to a significant number of patients in the Frankston area through this particular
GP closing, so we have been working closely with the Commonwealth and also with the south-eastern metropolitan primary health network and our own health services in that part of the city. Pleasingly, the Commonwealth government has provided the clinic with additional funding so it can remain open for an additional four weeks while we work together with the Commonwealth on a more enduring solution in Frankston,” Stitt said “We know that there is a prescriber shortage nationwide. That is why, in addition to the work that we are doing to find ongoing solutions in Frankston, we are working alongside the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Department of Health to offer free pharmacotherapy training for GPs so that we can build the number of GPs available across the state that are able to prescribe. “The issue does remain that many Commonwealth-funded GP clinics choose, sadly, not to provide this kind of specialist addiction service. So in addition to the Commonwealth efforts, we are also providing funding for surge capacity in Victoria to deal with situations that we have, such as the one in Frankston right now. We also have a broader $10 million investment to expand our pharmacotherapy services and address that service gap.” Brodie Cowburn
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13 February 2024
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