Doctor takes fresh approach to drug abuse among refugees

THE often familiar characteristics of a 'detox' doctor were not there - that cynical, take-it-or-leave-it attitude that says 'show me something I haven't seen'.

Instead, Dr Adrian Reynolds was refreshing, keen . . . fired up. As he looked across the concrete compound of a camp that is arguably the most concentrated area for drug abusers in the territory, Dr Reynolds appeared ready for the challenge ahead.

Pillar Point Vietnamese Refugee Camp is officially home to about 1,500 people, and of that group, some have not been seen for years and don't want to be found.

More worrying is the massive drug problem at the camp. The problem itself is nothing new, but the work of this very recently arrived Australian doctor is.

With no experience in refugee work but a lifetime's work in hardcore drug abuse, this easy-going physician has been asked by the United Nations to tackle what others have poked and prodded at for years.

With a looming deadline to decide which refugees cannot be resettled, the clock is ticking for Dr Reynolds to clean up borderline resettlement cases who have no hope of a life abroad unless they kick the habit in weeks rather than months.

By the end of December, Dr Reynolds will have completed a report mapping the way ahead for a drug detoxification and rehabilitation programme which he hopes will lead to the development of a manual for use internationally.