Service User Comment On The NTA Treatment Effectiveness Strategy

Notes and Quotes

In July 2005 the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse launched its new “Treatment Effectiveness Strategy” which is aimed at improving the service user’s journey into, through and beyond treatment.

In view of this, eight people who use services met to learn something of the strategy, and discuss what ‘effective treatment’ means to them.

‘Help people to help themselves. You are only going to have that worker there for so long and after that what are you going to do if you have got problems? It is important to know what support is there if you ever need it again!’

See report inside ‘more’.

	Click icon to hear clip 1

‘Our health, our care, our say’

In January the Department of Health published a joint health and social care white paper; ‘Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services’. A case study under the Chapter ‘Ensuring our reforms put people in control’ describes a service for ‘drug and alcohol misusers’.

Tough Choices

Paul Keeling offers an introduction to the possible journey offenders might take in the light of the expansion of the Drug Intervention Programme

Dr Russell Newcome on the ACMD report on cannabis

 Russell offers a critique of the Home Office report ‘Further consideration of the classification of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971’ recently published by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

Face to Face – Do’s & Don’ts

Eleven people who use services met to discuss what helps, and what doesn’t, in face to face meetings with a worker.

Hepatitis C – ‘In the light of the high rates of hepatitis C, does the HIV/AIDS model of community action offer an easily adaptable template to increase user organisation?’

Grant MCNally
Grant continues his series investigating Hepatitis C Virus and UK responses. His fourth paper looks at user led initiative and explores the position of drug users affected by both HCV and HIV

Motivational interviewing – ditch the manual?
Mike Ashton – Drug and Alcohol Findings

Two things most people don’t know about motivational interviewing,the most influential approach to addictios counselling:
1. though impacts are generally positive, forsome people it can actually make things worse.
2. This happens when therapists follow ‘expert’ manuals.

Personalisation through participation:Public service reform

Can the Treatment Effectiveness agenda benefit from an analysis of client journey across the broad public sector? In this paper DEMOS research agency describes some of the history and themes involved in the individualisation of public services…..

The client journey: What train am I on?
Independance Well Being & Choice

Drugs budgets, strategies and policies aim to intervene not only with in health and legal matters, but with the social causes and consequences of drug use. In March 2005 the Department of Health published the paper ‘Independence Well being and Choice’ saying “Our starting point is the principle that everyone in society has a positive contribution to make to that society and that they should have a right to control their own lives….

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‘Getting to Know You’

Extract – National Positive Futures Case Study Research Report Tim Crabbe et al

[Sessions] can be simply grouped into ‘formal’ and ‘informal’approaches, with formal referring to programmed workshops covering, for example, alcohol and substance use, and informal occurring responsively to individuals or issues during a session. There is not a judgement here about one style being more effective than another. Indedd using both flexibilty may be desirable as it respondes to varying individual learning styles, as well as to specificities of environment’.

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Improving the client journey: Travellers tales

Click the clip to hear a range of comments on the client journey

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User Involvement and the client journey: Extracting lessons from other sectors

‘Cases for Change – User Involvement’ emerged from the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) and offers the drugs field insight into an alternative collective journey through services and service development……

The press on ecstacy – Mike Linnell

Comment responding to web inquiries about the Daily Mail article on ’50p ecstasy’.

The mushroon effect – How to grow law breakers

“It is now illegal to let relatively harmless mushrooms containing psilocin grow on your lawn, but quite legal to grow (or let grow) highly poisonous mushrooms like amanita virosa ( destroying angel ) and amanita phalloides ( death cap ) – which kill most people who swallow them.”

Dr. R Newcombe, Senior Lecturer in Drug Use & Addiction
Liverpool John Moore’s University

THE DRUGS BILL
Documents and commentary

1 Drugs Bill
2 Release/Transform – Joint Statement
3 Drugs Bill Q & A – Guardian Unlimited
4 Drugscope/Turning Point – Response

Lessons from America : Women and the law

Will UK drug policy fail to grasp the practical imperative, by missing opportunities to focus on the real issues women users face. A report out in the USA this month describes the effects of the war on drugs on women offenders.

“Drug convictions have caused the number of women behind bars to explode…………

Manners Matter – Part 2
Mike Ashton

Can we help?
The second part of the Manners Matter series from Drug and Alcohol Findings reviews research on obstacles to accessing treatment and how they can be overcome. Would-be patients and clients can’t get treatment unless they can get to you, and if you don’t help them get to you, what does that say about how much you care? These simple truths are rarely taken to heart in the form of practical help.

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drugandalcoholfindings.org.uk

Mike Linell – Drawing a Line

 
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