Goulburn-Mulwaree is one of three areas in NSW where there has been a downturn in unintentional overdose deaths, despite an overdose crisis gripping regional NSW.
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Between 2013 and 2017 there were 16 unintentional overdose deaths in the South Coast, down from 16 between 2003 and 2007, according to the Penington Institute report released on Tuesday.
The non-government institute identifies substance use problems and their causes.
This upward trend is reflected across the wider region. Sholhaven has seen 41 unintentional overdoses in the same five year period, the South Coast has recorded 35 deaths of the same nature. The Southern Highlands has see unintentional overdoses more than doubled to 13 between 2013 and 2017.
See how NSW compares to the rest of Australia
Despite the good news in Goulburn, regional NSW is still suffering. Penington Institute CEO John Ryan has called this an overdose crisis.
"On average, a person in NSW dies every 15 hours because of an unintentional overdose," he said.
"One of the main culprits has been the massive increase in the deaths due to stimulants like ice. Five years ago, unintentional deaths from overdoses of stimulants started skyrocketing - and they haven't stopped since."
There has been an increase in "polydrug" use, according to the Penington Institute, where people have overdosed on multiple types of drugs.
"We're good at treating single-drug overdoses. But when you're introducing multiple other types of drugs into a person's system, the response can be hard to predict," Mr Ryan said.
Regional NSW has been singled out as the area worst hit by the overdose crisis.
"You're twice as likely to die of an unintentional drug overdose in regional NSW today than a decade ago," Mr Ryan said.
"Ten years ago, people were more likely to die of an unintentional overdose in Sydney than regional NSW. Today that has completely turned around.
"That points to a massive failure to provide the kind of services and interventions that we know save lives.
"We can turn this around before it's too late. If we apply the methods we know are successful in reducing overdose deaths we'll save billions of dollars and, more importantly, save the lives of thousands of Australians."
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Grace Ryan
Deputy Editor at the Central Western Daily, Orange. You'll mostly find me tinkering in social media and newsletters. Working hard to get our stories in front of your eyes.
Deputy Editor at the Central Western Daily, Orange. You'll mostly find me tinkering in social media and newsletters. Working hard to get our stories in front of your eyes.
