Consultation on Future Drug and Alcohol Services in Shropshire

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1 Consultation on Future Drug and Alcohol Services in Shropshire 15 Dec Feb 2015 What is this consultation about? Shropshire Council aims to make sure that everyone can access the support they need to live long, satisfying lives. We have looked at our drug and alcohol treatment system and would like to make some changes to make them work in a better way for you. We want to make sure that everyone who wants support gets the best help they can to make the changes that they need to. We also want to help parents, partners and others who live with someone who is misusing drugs and alcohol to get help when they need it too. This consultation is seeking your views on a proposed single drug and alcohol service for Shropshire that aims to: Places a greater focus on long term recovery. Puts more responsibility on individuals to own their recovery. Supports families affected by drug and/or alcohol misuse. Why are we doing this? The 2010 the National Drug Strategy set out a new ambition for people dependent on drugs and alcohol to provide better support to help them recover and stay recovered. There was also a recognition problematic drug use was changing. With fewer people becoming addicted to substances such as heroin and an increasing use of new psychoactive substances (also known as legal highs) and other drugs, including over the counter and prescription drugs, treatment services needed to change.

2 In April 2013 Shropshire Council became the lead organisation responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol services. This means Shropshire Council have to ensure drug and alcohol services meet people s needs, provide the highest quality and offer best value for money. This change in responsibility has provided the opportunity to look at the current system to ensure it responds to local needs and supports the ambition to improve long term recovery. The number of people who need help for drug misuse is relatively small when compared to those who become dependent on alcohol. Because of how the current system is delivered some people have to wait longer for alcohol services than they should. We want to ensure that everyone gets the help they need, when they need it regardless of whether they have a drug or alcohol problem. We believe by bringing drug and alcohol services together we can support people better. Current Model and Future Delivery The current model is delivered through a number of organisations that work closely together (see Diagram A). In the new model we want to make it simpler for people who need help to access it quickly. We do not know yet whether the new model will be provided by one or a number of organisations working together as they do now. We do know that we want to provide a simple and effective service to people that supports people to move on from dependency. What is recovery? Recovery is a process more so than an end state and will mean different things to different people. We have used the United Kingdom Drugs Policy Commission (UKDPC) consensus statement of 2008 to define our ambition of recovery which is a process Characterised by voluntarily sustained control over substance use that maximises health and well-being and participation in the rights, roles and responsibilities of society. (A vision for recovery, UKDPC, 2008 p: 6). This means recovery is much wider than just being free from dependence on drugs and alcohol; it is about having a safe place to live, a job, friends and a place in society.

3 Focus on recovery: What the new Service will offer It is proposed the new drug and alcohol treatment system will be recovery focused and will target those individuals who are posing the highest risks to themselves, their families and the communities in which they live. To do this we propose to move from having separate drug and alcohol services to having one service that will cater for all needs. The new system will ensure recovery is a visible and shared ambition on entry to treatment and continued throughout the treatment journey supporting families during recovery. Many of the current services already support recovery, however, we have looked at current services and think we can improve our offer: We would like to: Help more people to become free from drug or alcohol dependency at home supported by a nurse. Provide better ongoing help and support for people after they ve stopped being dependent on drugs or alcohol. Provide better access to Hep B vaccinations and Hep C screening to improve people s health and wellbeing. Encourage people who use needle exchanges to have more time to talk to a drug worker if they need to. Encourage families to get the help they need. Support people to use services such as Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous which can help recovery. Have one telephone number for both drug and alcohol services. Have a clear offer of service and what this means in terms of help. What services will be included in the new model? The new service will need to offer a range of services to support recovery and harm reduction and meet quality standards including. Information and advice Needle exchange Withdrawal /detoxification Medical services (for e.g. methadone). One to one support Counselling; Family Support Structured aftercare

4 The service will also work very closely with services such as housing and Job Centre Plus to make sure that we help you to look at any problems which may stand in the way of recovery. We still want to provide services where we currently do, in market towns across Shropshire so you can see us close to where you live. Diagram A: Current Drug and Alcohol Treatment System Model Referral to drug service Referral to alcohol service Information/Advice/Assessment Information/ Advice /Assessment Transfer to drug services for detox or complexity Interventions Interventions Optional interventions for both services Structured Day Services Inpatient detox Residential rehabilitation Recovery

5 Diagram B: New Drug and Alcohol Treatment system model Access Service (Referrals) (Referrals Engagement What help do you need? Information/Advice Needle Exchange Triage/Assessment Interventions Medical support. Structured Day support. Inpatient and community detox. Residential and community rehabilitation. Change What you need to do! Recovery How to stay drug or alochol free Whats Achieved Mutual Aid. Relapse Support. Peer support. People become drug and alcohol free Less drug and alochol related deaths Less crime and reoffending Jobs and housing Better health and well being Better relationships Better parents

6 We really want to know what you think about our ideas. Please let us know your views on: Q1 What are your views on our proposal to move from separate alcohol and drug services to one service for both? Q2. What are your views on a more recovery focused service? Q3. We want our service to help families and give them priority. What do you think of this idea? Q4. We want to prioritise those who are causing the most harm to themselves and their families. Do you feel this is right? Q5. Where would you like to see services located? Q6. When do you think our service should be open? Weekdays? Weekends? Daytimes? Evenings? Weekdays Weekends Daytime Evenings

7 Q7 How should we advertise our services? Q8. Is there anything you d like our service to do which we haven t thought of? Please let us have any other thoughts or comments Thank you for providing your feedback. This will help us to shape our new service and ensure that it meets the needs of Shropshire residents. Please return this form no later than the 6 February 2015 to Drug and Alcohol Action Team, Shirehall Abbey Foregate Shrewsbury SY2 6ND. If you have any further queries about our proposals, you may us at Or telephone Gavin on For further information on drug and alcohol services in Shropshire, please visit