Training & Consultancy :: Courses

Needle Exchange and Safer Injecting Training

KFx is one of the UK's leading providers of Needle Exchange training and offers a series of highly regarded, positively evaluated courses. Purchasers have included major service providers such as Addaction, Phoenix House, CRI, Turning Point, Compass, WDP and a number of DAT regions.

Courses range in length from half day to three days, and courses can be adjusted to reflect local need or service aim. The courses are backed up by comprehensive presentation slides and a huge reference manual.

Course variants

Half Day course:

primarily aimed at pharmacy assistants and pharmacists working within established needle exchange
looks at risks of injecting, rationale for needle exchange, key equipment, how it is used, indicators of harm, referral

One-day course:

for people who encounter injectors, need to provide basic advice and refer to needle exchange, but will not be advising on injecting technique or distributing equipment
looks at reasons for injecting, rationale for needle exchange, what gets injected, key equipment, how it used, indicators of harm, referral

Two-day course:

for people who are working with injectors on a regular basis. Includes workers who will undertake needle-exchange duties in an existing service, where policy is already in place and supervision will be provided
includes: anatomy for injecting, what gets injected, reasons for injecting, risks and harm reduction, equipment, process, indicators of harm, referral, law

This course is usually run on an 'in house' basis but is occasionally run on an 'open' basis. See the Multi-Delegate Courses section to see if any dates are currently available.

Three day course:

for people who undertake significant amounts of needle exchange work, in established needle exchanges or new services. Appropriate for wholly new services starting from scratch, or existing services
includes: anatomy for injecting, what gets injected, reasons for injecting, risks and harm reduction, equipment, process, indicators of harm, referral, law, ethics, alternatives to injecting, policy, assessment, record keeping, waste handling

See full course details here

Additional modules

Additional modules offered include:

Young People and Needle Exchange:
Law, policy and practice in working with young injectors;
The three-day Nx course can be restructured to run with a focus on work with young injectors

Femoral Injecting:
Either as a stand-alone module for previously-trained workers, or as an additional day on the two day course. Looks at issues and interventions surrounding groin injecting.

Needle Exchange refresher:
A one day course for previously-trained workers - an opportunity to reflect on practice, explore issues and update knowledge in a facillitated environment

Consultancy Services:
Agencies can also use KFx to review and develop Needle Exchange services, or assist in the development of services from the ground up.

Further information: Over the past five years we have trained in excess of one thousand drugs workers and allied professionals in issues related to safer injecting and needle exchange. the courses are invariably positively evaluated.

As the courses are high-demand, multi-day courses, available days can be booked up a long way in advance. If you are interested in running one of these courses, you should book a long way in advance if possible to avoid disappointment.

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