29After the gruelling drive and a sleepless night, Vince rolled up the hospital tired and grumpy. On his rounds he ran into Charlie McNamee, the local Drug and Alcohol Physician. Charlie was a neat little man, apart from his large grizzly ginger beard, which dominated his face, leaving intense, but friendly green eyes as the only visible means of expression.
‘G’day Charlie,’ Vince said. ‘Kicked any goals lately?’
Charlie had set up the local Regional Alcohol and Drug Service a few years ago in response to the escalating rate of substance abuse in the area, and it had now grown into an outpatient centre with counselling services, needle exchange, a methadone program and an inpatient detoxification unit, which was staffed by a team of dedicated nurses—‘Charlies Angels’.
‘Mate,’ answered C
