The number of pharmacies in Northern Ireland that have participated in the Needle and Syringe Exchange scheme in each year since its introduction is shown in the following table.
The Needle and Syringe Exchange scheme was introduced in Northern Ireland in April 2001.
Number of pharmacies 2001-021 8 2002-03 8 2003-04 8 2004-05 8 2005-06 9 1 Initially there were five participating pharmacies in the Needle and Syringe Exchange scheme but by the end of 2001-02 there were eight
The drug-taking equipment that is issued to clients in the Needle and Syringe Exchange scheme is returned in black CinBins. The participating pharmacies in the scheme record the number of bins returns at each visit, but these bins are never opened and so the exact number of needles and syringes returned is not recorded.
The following table shows the number of visits where the client has returned at least one bin, and the total number of bins returned.
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Number of visits where the client returned at least one bin 4,450 4,010 3,872 Number of bins returned 7,081 6,801 6,667
The following table shows what percentage of visits to pharmacies participating in the Northern Ireland Needle and Syringe Exchange scheme were made by (a) people aged (i) under 21, (ii) between 21 and 30, (iii) between 31 and 40, and (iv) over 40 years of age, in each of the last three years.
The age categories in this question are different from those used in the Needle and Syringe Exchange scheme annual reports, and so the following tables cannot be compared to the age profile given in the annual reports.
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Under 21 2 2 3 21-30 54 48 46 31-40 33 42 46 Over 40 11 8 6
The following table shows what percentage of visits to pharmacies participating in the Northern Ireland Needle and Syringe Exchange scheme were made by (b) males, (A) in total, (B) under 21, (C) between 21 and 30, (D) between 31 and 40, and (E) over 40 years of age in each of the last three years.
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Males 83 89 87 Under 21 2 3 3 21-30 55 49 46 31-40 34 42 46 Over 40 9 7 5
The following table shows what percentage of visits to pharmacies participating in the Northern Ireland Needle and Syringe Exchange scheme were made by (c) females (1) in-total, (2) under 21, (e) between 21 and 30, (4) between 31 and 40 and (5) over 40 years of age in each of the last three years.
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Female 17 11 13 Under 21 2 1 1 21-30 49 39 47 31-40 26 38 43 Over 40 24 23 8
The following table shows the number of syringes and needles issued in each of the last three years by the Northern Ireland Needle and Syringe Exchange scheme.
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Syringes 82,731 86,056 85,801 Needles 82,589 79,489 65,111
The following table shows the number of clients visiting the Northern Ireland needle and syringe exchange scheme (a) (i) who reported themselves to be new users of the scheme and also the number of clients (b) (i) who reported that had ‘currently shared equipment’.
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Number of visits where a client reported themselves to be a new user to the scheme 356 320 318 Number of visits where a client reported currently sharing equipment 17 12 17 Total number of visits 7,508 7,440 8,797
The following table shows the percentage of (a) (ii) clients who reported themselves to be new users of the scheme and the percentage of (b) (ii) clients who reported that they had “currently shared equipment” of the overall total number of visits made to the scheme.
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Percentage of visits where a client reported themselves to be a new user to the scheme 5 4 4 Percentage of visits where a client reported currently sharing equipment 0.2 0.2 0.2
As the data are collected in an anonymised form it is not possible to report directly on the number of individuals using the needle and syringe exchange scheme, therefore figures are expressed as a percentage of the total number of visits.
The following table shows the number of visits that were made to pharmacies in Northern Ireland participating in the needle and syringe exchange scheme in each of the last three years by users of the scheme.
Number of visits 2003-04 7,508 2004-05 7,440 2005-06 8,797