Paramedics throw their support behind pill testing

The Ambulance Union State Council has formally endorsed a pill testing trial.

State secretary Danny Hill, who had previously given testing his personal endorsement last month, today told Neil Mitchell the council decided to back pill testing as a whole.

But “not just pill testing on its own”.

Mr Hill said the most recent summer of overdoses at music festivals was a significant backdrop to the decision, including one unnamed event where eight people required a tube down their throats to help them breathe.

“We’ve got a serious problem where we’ve literally got the equivalent of a mass casualty incident at a festival,” Mr Hill said, highlighting the toll on ambulance resources.

“I think we need to look broadly at how a lot of these music festivals are controlled and managed.”

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The ambo union’s approval comes after the boss of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation’s state boss Paul Gilbert recently backed pill testing.

Victoria’s police union is yet to take a firm position, but has not yet ruled out support.

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