– I get scared, says Lasse (52). He has been active in the drug environment for around 30 years and has long used Prindsen’s reception centre. It is located in Storgata in Oslo, and is closed indefinitely from today, 22 October. Oslo municipality has set up a crisis team to make sure that the group is followed up, says social affairs councilor Julianne Ferskaug. The Norwegian Occupational Safety and Health Administration believes that the municipality has not done enough to protect employees at the Prindsen reception center in Oslo. – What are we going to do if we don’t have Prindsen? I’m completely shocked, says Lasse. Prindsen is run by the Welfare Agency. It is an offer for drug addicts, which has, among other things, accommodation, health care and a user room, often called an “injection room”. Now several people, including department director for substance abuse services, Anders Dalsaune Jansen, fear that the closure could lead to a danger to life and health. – The whole measure is based on us working to reduce injuries and avoid overdoses. So the fact that we do not have that offer now could have consequences. At the reception centre, everyone is open, both with the users and about themselves, says Lasse. Photo: Harpreet Kaur Nijjer / news – There I will be met as a human being For the past four months, Lasse has received wound care at Prindsen, in addition to helping him psychologically with conversations. – The prince is enormously important. Fortunately, my wound has just healed, because I can’t go anywhere else for help. There I am met with stigma. – But at Prindsen I am met as a human being. Lasse says that it is the only place where you get comfort and care. He says that it is because of them that he was able to reduce his drug use and quit heroin. For those who use the Prindsen reception centre, it is an enormously important place, Lasse believes. Photo: Harpreet Kaur Nijjer / news Attempted murder against an employee It is the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority that has demanded closure. The background is several HSE deviations and serious incidents, according to the inspectorate. – For example, blows to the temple of an employee and attempted murder by strangulation, says section leader Monica Wiig Kolstad in the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority. Prindsen has both user rooms and accommodation for drug addicts. Now Oslo municipality must find alternative offers. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news They believe that no concrete measures have been taken to prevent something similar from happening again. Several discrepancies have also been reported regarding users with weapons. Among other things, “saw, knife, garden shears, firearm, machete-like knife, etc.,” they write. Therefore, they announced the closure of everything on 11 October. The municipality was given until Monday to resolve the situation and find measures. They have not done that, the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority believes. – The business has been given plenty of time to implement the necessary measures and has also received guidance along the way, says Kolstad. Also earlier this autumn, parts of the offer, open back garden, were closed. According to the municipality, due to a “serious incident”. – Fear for life and health Prindsen offers, among other things, accommodation, health care and user rooms where people can take drugs in safe surroundings. Now everything is closed, with the exception of a hatch where users can collect clean and sterile equipment. – The emergency accommodation measures, the user room and the field care must be handled in alternative ways, writes social councilor Julianne Ferskaug in a memo to the city council. Social councilor Julianne Ferskaug (V) says they have a goal to make the working environment safe, so that Prindsen can reopen. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news The councilor says she is concerned that the target group now receives good enough services. The fact that the municipality’s most important offer closes can also lead to more pressure on other players. Among them Nursing on wheels, run by the Fransiskushjelpen. – We find that people are anxious and worried about how long it will last, says communications manager Kristine Mo Karlsen. They are particularly concerned that the user room is now closed. Because there are no alternatives to that. During Tuesday, their nurses saw several people taking injections outdoors, says Karlsen. – We are concerned about both life and health. “Johnny” says that people have tried to call the reception center on Monday. He hopes everyone can help make the situation at Prindsen better. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news – People will spend more around. Maybe be more in the way of others, even if they don’t mean it. There may be more syringes lying around. It says “Johnny”. He is addicted to drugs, and will not come forward with his own name in the case. On Tuesdays, he walks in the area around Storgata and picks up syringe tips and other user equipment. There are several people in the community who do, he says, both their own and others’. They don’t want anyone to stick or hurt themselves from the needles. “Johnny” walks in the area around the Prindsen Reception Center in Storgata and cleans syringe tips and other user equipment. “Johnny” fears the closure could lead to overdoses. – If you are inside Prindsen, you will get help right away. If you are outside, it is something else. It can definitely become more difficult for people. The user room at Prindsen Reception Center was closed at 08.00 Tuesday 22 October. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Guards did not hold According to city councilor Julianne Ferskaug, the municipality has complained about the decision from the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority. They will have a meeting with the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority tomorrow to clarify what is needed to reopen as quickly as possible. – Now the most important thing we do is to have a dialogue, to clarify exactly what is needed to be absolutely sure that employees are safe at work, and that the user group is taken care of, she says. They believe that the guidance and information from the inspectorate has been too poor, she writes in the note. The municipality believes they have put security measures in place. On Monday, for example, they deployed guards. They have also had measures that apply to users with weapons, according to the Welfare Agency’s director of substance abuse services, Anders Dalsaune Jansen. – We assessed that the measures were sufficient to avoid closure, but the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority assessed it differently. They justify this by saying that we have not documented the effect of the measures well enough, and that we have not outlined the design of the premises well enough. Department director for substance abuse services, Anders Dalsaune Jansen, is concerned that the closure could lead to a danger to life and health for the users. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Jansen says they have experienced the guidance they have received from the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority as insufficient. – Both to close the orders, and to avoid stoppages. We have had the intention of an open dialogue about how we can achieve this in a fast and good way, but do not feel that we have been given sufficient guidance to reach the goal. Published 22.10.2024, at 13.35 Updated 22.10.2024, at 20.49
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The Prindsen reception center is hugely important for the drug environment and is temporarily closed – Greater Oslo
