SAFEGUARDING
ACTION
MORE CHILDREN
than previously
thought are dying or being hospitalised
after ingesting opioid substitution
therapy (OST) medications, according to
a new report from Adfam. The charity
says lessons from previous tragic cases
have still not been learned and wants
to see all incidents of children ingesting
OST medication ‘fully investigated and
recorded’, with the information properly
analysed and shared with local services.
Adfam is calling for proper training for
parents as well as for all professionals
who come into contact with parents and
carers prescribed OST drugs.
Medications in drug treatment: tackling
the risks to children – one year on at
See feature, page 12
HEP UNAWARENESS
Almost half of injecting drug users are
unaware of having hepatitis C, according to
PHE figures. Despite uptake of testing
standing at more than 80 per cent of users,
around 48 per cent of infections were
undiagnosed, says the latest
Shooting up
report. Regular testing – whether through
treatment services or primary care –
remains ‘crucial’ to protecting health, says
PHE. Meanwhile, the World Hepatitis
Alliance has stressed that the faster
progression of viral hepatitis in HIV
patients means this group is three times
more likely to suffer liver disease, liver
failure or liver-related deaths. The
organisation is calling for more recognition
of hepatitis and HIV co-infections.
Shooting
up: infections among people who inject drugs
in the UK, 2014 – an update at
‘NO EVIDENCE’ MEANS
IRRESPONSIBLE DEAL
The government’s public health
responsibility deal for alcohol has pursued
initiatives ‘known to have limited efficacy’
while obstructing more meaningful action,
according to a report by the Institute of
Alcohol Studies (IAS). ‘With no support
from the health community, and no
evidence of effectiveness, it would be
absurd for this government to continue
with such a farcical initiative,’ said IAS
director Katherine Brown.
Dead on arrival?
Evaluating the public health responsibility
deal for alcohol at
News
BRIEF BRIEFING
‘Decisive’ coordinated action is needed to
ensure a future for alcohol brief
interventions, according to a report from the
Alcohol Academy and Alcohol Research UK.
Alcohol identification and brief advice (IBA)
has proved difficult to implement effectively,
says the document, with ongoing issues
around primary care as the key setting and
‘understanding what brief intervention
actually involves’.
Alcohol brief intervention:
where next for IBA? at alcoholresearchuk.org
SEIZURE STATS
The number of drug seizures in England and
Wales fell by 14 per cent in 2014-15 to just
over 167,000, according to figures from the
Home Office. More than 124,000 of these
were seizures of cannabis – down by 17 per
cent on the previous year. Overall class A
seizures were also down by 10 per cent,
despite seizures of heroin increasing by more
than 70 per cent.
Seizures of drugs in England
and Wales, 2014/15 at
HELP IN SIGHT
The first guide to substance use and sight
loss has been published by the Thomas
Pocklington Trust, and includes key
resources for professionals and best
practice examples. ‘Our research found that
both sight loss and substance abuse
services are not adequately equipped to
deal with these overlapping issues,’ said
lead author Sarah Galvani. ‘Substance
abuse can sometimes be used as a coping
mechanism for sight loss, but the
combination of both issues can create a
complex challenge for support
professionals.’
Substance use and sight loss
at alcoholresearchuk.org
Read the full stories, and more, online
IRELAND CONSIDERS CONSUMPTION
ROOMS AND DECRIMINALISATION FOR
PERSONAL USE
THE GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND
is considering the introduction of drug
consumption rooms, as well as decriminalising small amounts of drugs for
personal use.
The announcement was made as part of a speech by new communities,
culture and equality minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, who has responsibility for
the country’s national drugs strategy, to the London School of Economics
IDEAS Forum.
Consumption rooms had proven effective in engaging hard-to-reach
populations, said Ó Ríordáin, and he had asked officials to examine
‘proposals for the provision of medically supervised injection facilities’ in
line with European and Australian models. This was partly to address
problems with street injecting in Dublin and elsewhere, as well as a recent
spike in blood-borne viruses, he said, telling the
Irish Times
newspaper that
the facilities would ‘happen next year’. The country’s health minister Leo
Varadkar, however, has stressed that while he supported the proposal it
would require a change in the law and would not be ‘a simple matter’.
A drugs policy review has also been launched to consider whether a
decriminalisation approach to the possession of ‘small quantities’ of drugs
– such as currently operates in Portugal – should be considered in Ireland,
although there was ‘certainly no desire for a permissive approach to drugs’,
Ó Ríordáin emphasised.
While the country’s drug strategy was one that was ‘firmly focused on
recovery’, a changing drugs landscape required renewed focus and
innovation, he stated. ‘I am in favour of a decriminalisation model, but it
must be one that suits the Irish context and be evidence based. I believe
that this kind of approach will only work if it is accompanied by timely
treatment and harm reduction services, backed up by wrap-around
supports which foster recovery – such as housing, health and social care.
Above all, the model must be person-centred and involve an integrated
approach to treatment and rehabilitation based on a continuum of care
with clearly defined referral pathways.’
Full speech at
‘I am in favour of a
decriminalisation
model, but it must
be one that suits the
Irish context and be
evidence based.’
AODHÁN Ó RÍORDÁIN
4 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| December 2015
Pic: Neil Ward
Lessons from
previous tragic
cases have still
not been learned.
