Security is to be beefed up at Addiction Services following an attack on a male nurse by a heroin addict.

The man snatched the tablets from a counter and ran out of the building between Dundonald and Victoria Streets. He then punched and kicked the nurse who tried to stop him.

The man escaped but the nurse was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for treatment for bruising to his head and legs, Police reported yesterday.

The incident highlights the question of security at Addiction Services which houses a methadone treatment programme for heroin addicts.

Yesterday, Chief Medical Officer in charge of Addiction Services Dr. John Cann said safety of the five staff was uppermost. The question of security, he said, had been raised in a report a year ago.

Suggestions, including changes in distribution, had already been implemented as a result of the report.

But as a result of Tuesday's attack, changes would also be made in the physical layout of the room where counselling and methadone is made available to addicts.

"It is a concern of ours that staff security should be uppermost,'' he said.

"We have gone back to the drawing board. We have to take every measure to protect staff.'' Dr. Cann claimed that while attacks were not commonplace, they did occur "from time to time''. But he admitted the nurse had been shaken by the incident.

At present, staff counsel addicts at a table with the methadone present. Now, Dr. Cann said, they were looking at a dispensary type system with staff doling out the tablets from a window.

This, however, hampered counselling, he said.

In April, probation officers complained of long waiting lists for methadone programmes. The complaint followed criticism by outgoing counsellor Mrs.

Gryneth Robinson who quit Addiction Services in November. She cited poor management and heavy workloads for her departure. She also appealed for improved treatment for heroin addicts.

Yesterday Dr. Cann said he was not aware of long waiting lists but added that demand for the 50-place methadone programme fluctuated.

He said Addiction Services has been under review for some time but that the problem boiled down to a question of lack of resources and staff.

Last year, the then Minister of Health and Social Services the Hon. Quinton Edness, in conjunction with the National Drug Commission, hired overseas consultants Benedict Associates to overhaul Addiction Services.

Dr. Cann said the review focussed on clearly defining drug programmes, shifting more emphasis to counselling and looking at staffing levels.

At present, five staff are supported by outside nursing staff and a physician but another counsellor is needed.

"We have a problem with resources and staff,'' Dr. Cann admitted.

He added that lately there had been a "swing back'' away from cocaine to heroin among drug users.

But with increased counselling for heroin addicts, he predicted that in the future, methadone would be used as a support to counselling.

"Methadone will not be viewed as the most important mode of treatment,'' he said.

And as services for drug offenders improved "across the board'' he said he expected to see a "vast improvement'' in treatment and a lesser dependence on methadone.