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drinkanddrugsnews
| June 2013
RCGP/SMMGP |
Primary care conference
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about prevention, the advice has to be “no safe amount” of alcohol in
pregnancy,’ she said.
‘If you adopt a child in the UK today, you are more likely to adopt one with FASD
than not,’ said Julia Brown, CEO of the Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Trust
(www.fasdtrust.co.uk). ‘We’reworking in nicemiddle class areas, but 10 per cent of the
pupils in two schools have FASD. It doesn’t just affect the poor, or those “over there”.
‘Don’t pigeonhole them – you will be coming across these children,’ she said.
‘We need to raise awareness and reduce the prevalence rate.’
FAMILY TIES
The role of the family was a central theme of the conference, which gave
perspectives from GPs and other experts, and families themselves
‘Our families are one of the biggest influences in our lives – and now we’ve
entered an era of extended families and relationships,’ said Dr Steve Brinksman.
There was plenty for GPs to look out for, he told the conference. Children in the
care system were more likely to become drug and alcohol users themselves;
parents needed help in challenging the stigma of being a ‘bad parent’ with a drug
or alcohol problem; and how often did GPs think of asking patients with anxiety
and depression whether it was linked to caring for a substance user?
‘Families should be a source of love and support,’ he said. ‘In primary care we’re
uniquely placed to support not only the drug user, but also their family.’
Dr Leslie Ironside explained the effects on the child of living in a troubled family,
and called on GPs to take ‘absolute interest’ in the children of their patients.
‘Reaching out and being accepted is crucially important and can be neglected.
If there’s an adult that takes an interest in them, it can make a huge difference to
a child’s life,’ he said. Toxic levels of stress could be very bad for children, whether
from a ‘scare giver’, who exposed them to domestic violence, or a parent that
didn’t give them enough attention.
‘A child gets an idea of what the world’s like from their parent,’ he said. ‘How
can we get this person in a difficult place to trust the outside world?’
At a workshop on working with families experiencing substance misuse, Claire
McCarthy of the charity 4children said that current provision for alcohol and drug
treatment lacked a family focus. The charity’s survey with ComRes showed that a
third of adults drank more than recommended, and 47 per cent were worried
about the effects of drugs and alcohol on their lives. With alcohol a major factor in
a large percentage of child protection cases, there was a lack of partnership
working and funding, and the charity had recommended that the alcohol industry
funded more support.
TWO SIDES OF THE STORY
The conference heard from Steve, aged 42, and his father Alan (not their
real names) who spoke about Steve’s 20-year drug history and its effects
on each other and their family
STEVE:
‘It’s been a lonely journey but my dad’s been my backbone.
I’m about to go for a two-week detox. It’s been a long road for me to decide to do
this – I hadn’t realised how far this life had gone past me. I lost my little brother to
this lifestyle. I’ve been in prison. I’ve never had a bank account. One day I thought,
‘enough’s enough – I have to do this now’. My little brother died and the older one’s
still using. My mum died when I was using. My dad’s been my backbone.
It’s been a lonely journey, even with support of my dad. When I first went to my
local GP practice, I weighed nine stone. I look a completely different person now. I
can be a person society can accept. I know there’s someone there to listen to me.
The daily grind of having to get up and shoplift, being wanted by the police,
ducking and diving, not knowing what was going to happen that day, having no
one to talk to. I started to think this was how it’d stay.
I realised, with my GP’s help, that you have to put the effort in. Every day on
methadone I still wanted to use heroin. If I didn’t put the effort in, someone else
would take my place. It’s not been easy and it’s still not easy. I’m still scared of
what’s ahead of me in rehab.
Through everything I’ve put my dad through, he’s had no support. Sometimes
I could see by the look on his face, he’s been relieved I’ve been in prison. I have to
show my dad his hard work hasn’t been for nothing.
You need your family. Without my dad, who knows what could’ve happened
to me. I know people not as fortunate, whose families have turned against
‘If there’s an adult that takes an
interest in them, it can make a
huge difference to a child’s life.’
DR LESLIE IRONSIDE on family issues
‘We don’t want to give the
impression that if you’re a
substance user, you shouldn’t be
having a baby.’
ROSIE MUNDT-LEACH