A Wollongong family will have a traumatic six month wait to see if their six year old daughter has contracted a blood disease such as HIV following a needle stick injury in a McDonalds play park.
This little girl used the slippery slide when she came into contact with a needle discarded by a junkie. The mentality of a person who would toss a used needle into a kid's play area can not be described.
We hear a lot about the war on drugs - and the exchange of disease between drug users because of needle sharing, but there is already an answer to these problems.
Over the years several brilliant people have designed needles that can only have a single use - and when used automatically prevent the sharp end from protruding to deliver a needle stick.
Why are we still manufacturing old fashioned needles that pass disease between users - and deliver needle sticks to nurses, people on beaches, - and innocent little children ?
The obvious answer is - cost. The simpler and less complicated the design the lower the cost and that is what the bottom line is about these days.
Surely the health savings by eliminating cross infection to users - and the total elimination of needle stick injuries to the public would be warranted by a few cents increase onto the billions of needles that are manufactured each year - and would warrant the total banning of unsafe needle products in this country.
All it would take would be an act of bravery by those in government to force a change in needle design and production.
Unfortunately, bravery is not a known ingredient of our politicians !
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