Safeguarding
ing resources came up throughout the
day, and PHE’s Pete Burkinshaw describ-
ed austerity as ‘the spoiler’ that led to
‘the deadening hand of conflicting
priorities’.
But Martin Smith urged delegates to
remember that ‘profit should never
come before the needs of children’.
‘We’ve got to have courage and
honesty – and we’ve got to find
evidence to back up what we’re trying
to change,’ he said.
Among the challenging questions
fired at the panel during the final
session was the issue of whether child-
ren should be trained and supported to
administer naloxone to their parent in
the event of an overdose. Should they
be given that responsibility?
While Dr Judith Yates was among
campaigners who had welcomed the
recent extension of naloxone prescribing,
she was worried about ‘children having
to parent their parent’: ‘It depends on
the age of the child,’ she said. ‘There’s
something not right about a six-year-old
being entrusted to save a life.’
Martin Smith said the level of
responsibility was too high, while Max
Vaughan agreed ‘it doesn’t feel safe or
right’. Sue Smith said that it shouldn’t
be entrusted to a child ‘at this stage’.
But several delegates threw back a
challenge of double standards, referring
to the ‘stigma of this client group’.
‘Many children are left to manage
chaotic drug use who haven’t had
proper support,’ said one. ‘Children,
whether we like it or not, are managing
their parents’ drug use. We’re guilty of
double standards.’
At the beginning of the day, Joy
Barlow had said: ‘I’m elated at what
we’ve achieved and also severely
disappointed at what we’ve achieved’ in
this area of practice. Adfam’s chief
executive, Vivienne Evans, finished on an
optimistic note by saying that workers in
this field had passion and commitment,
which was ‘harder than rocket science’.
‘This is hugely complex and difficult
work,’ she said. ‘We need to have that
optimism that we can give children the
best start.’
12 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| December 2015
A GRIM PICTURE
Adfam’s new report shows children
are still dying after ingesting
medications used to treat drug
addiction. Its author
Rachael Evans
,
Adfam’s policy and research officer,
shares findings
ADFAM
has particularly focused on safeguarding over
the past couple of years. Publishing our new report
Medications in drug treatment: tackling the risks to
children – one year on
, our research revealed that far
more children than previously thought are dying and
being hospitalised after ingesting medications
prescribed to treat their parents’ drug addiction.
In the ten years to 2013, at least 110 children and
teenagers aged 18 and under in the UK died from the
toxic effects of OST medications. In the same time, at
least 328 children in England were hospitalised and
diagnosed with methadone poisoning. Of the 73
deaths in England and Wales, only seven resulted in
serious case reviews (SCRs).
Since Adfam first reported on this tragic
phenomenon in 2014, these cases have continued to
happen, with at least three new SCRs in the last year.
While many children will have consumed the
medications accidentally, some were given them by
their parents in a misguided attempt to help soothe
or send them to sleep. The statistics also show the
majority of fatal poisonings involve older, rather than
younger children – but little is known about how or
why these incidents occur.
OST is proven to reduce dependence on street
heroin, and by doing so it saves lives, improves
health and wellbeing and cuts crime. The rightful
place of these medications in addiction treatment is
not at issue, but it’s imperative that the risks they
pose to children are better addressed and future
incidents prevented.
Our report makes a number of recommendations
to help do this, starting with the need for all
incidents involving a child’s ingestion of these
medications to be fully investigated and recorded –
and analysed centrally by government, with the
learning shared with local services. The wide range
of professionals who come into contact with
parents and carers prescribed OST medications must
all be trained about their potential harm to
children, and services must work together and share
information more effectively to minimise risk.
Parents must also be educated about the potentially
fatal risk posed by OST medications, and given a
secure box to store them.
Vivienne Evans, Adfam’s chief executive, said: ‘The
lessons from previous tragic cases have not been
heeded, and a year after we called attention to the
issue, children are still dying. The vast majority of
parents prescribed these medications will use them
safely and appropriately – but the number of children
now identified as having been harmed lends the
issue even greater urgency. Systemic and cultural
failure means services are still not working closely
enough to safeguard vulnerable children.’
Our research, along with the training we have
delivered to local authorities, has identified some
areas of good practice. One drug treatment service
has appointed two specialist family workers to work
with pregnant service users and families. Specialist
workers and midwives can help a service maintain a
whole-family focus, and this model was praised by
SCR panels. Another promising model is the
development of inter-agency joint protocols between
drug services and health visiting teams, so that
information is shared and joint home visits can be
conducted. More information and examples of good
practice can be found throughout the report.
By the end of 2015, Adfam will have trained 19
local councils to reduce the risks to children posed by
these medications, and we hope to continue this
crucial work in 2016.
‘Specialist workers and
midwives can help a
service maintain a
whole-family focus’.
Rachael Evans
‘Workers in this field have passion
and commitment, it’s harder than
rocket science.’
Vivienne Evans, Adfam
