Sniffer dogs to be used in Victorian mental health unit in Australian first

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Sniffer dog Flip at the Sydney International Airport

Victoria’s largest mental health provider will become the first in Australia to start using drug detector dogs to try to stop illicit drugs from being smuggled into in-patient units.

NorthWestern Mental Health, which is covers Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs, will start using the privately-contracted sniffer dogs at its acute in-patient facilities immediately.

Chairman Robert Doyle said it was a “dramatic step” but “drugs and mental health patients simply do not mix”.

He said they had a lot of “anecdotal evidence” about the amount of drugs being smuggled into mental health facilities and acknowledged the drug ice was prevalent in the community.

We don’t take this step lightly. But it’s necessary for the safety of patients and the safety of the staff caring for those patients.

Robert Doyle, chairman of Melbourne Health

 

“We have enormous experience in our patients and how they behave,” Mr Doyle said.

“We will create an atmosphere where people will understand that it is simply not secure or safe or possible to smuggle drugs into an acute mental health in-patient unit.”

He said the illicit drugs posed an unacceptable risk to vulnerable patients and staff.

“We don’t take this step lightly,” he said.

“But it’s necessary for the safety of patients and the safety of the staff caring for those patients.

“We have to make sure our patients have a recovery-focussed environment and that our staff are safe.”

He said similar programs were already operated in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, likening it to operations involving sniffer dogs in airports.

“We pay per hour. [The cost] is not extravagant but compared to the human cost for patients and the safety costs for the staff, it’s really pretty minimal,” he said.

Mr Doyle said the program would operate in a “respectful way”.

Sniffer dogs would sit down if they detect drugs, then the drugs would be confiscated and police would be called.