KNOWLEDGE NEEDED
MORE
needs to be done to ‘identify and
understand the best approaches to substance
abuse prevention’, according to a briefing
paper from ACMD. Standalone projects are
likely to have little impact unless they form
part of wider healthy living strategies, says
Prevention of drug and alcohol dependence
,
which also calls on those in the field to ‘agree
common terminology’.
GLOBAL FAILURE
JUST 4 PER CENT
of the worldwide total of
drug users living with HIV are receiving
antiretroviral therapy, according to HRI’s latest
Global state of harm reduction report
, while
just 8 per cent of the world’s injecting drug
users are thought to be able to access opioid
substitution therapy. On a ‘global average’,
drug users are able to access just two clean
needles a month, says HRI.
SCOTS LOOK TO TACKLE
LEGAL HIGHS
AUTHORITIES
should attach conditions relating
to the sale of new psychoactive substances
(NPS) when issuing public entertainment
licences, according to a report from the Scottish
Government’s expert review group. Meanwhile,
Lincoln’s city council has voted in favour of
introducing a public space protection order
(PSPO) to stop people taking NPS in public
places. Anyone breaching the order – the first
of its kind in the country – could be issued with
a fixed penalty notice or face a fine.
New psychoactive substances expert review
group at
LIB DEM ELECTION
PROMISE
THE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT
election manifesto
will pledge to replace imprisonment for
possession of drugs for personal use with the
approach used in Portugal, where people are
diverted into treatment, education or civil
penalties. The party would also transfer drug
policy from the Home Office to the
Department of Health, said leader Nick Clegg.
MSM ACTION PLAN
PHE
has published an action plan to
address health and wellbeing
inequalities faced by men who have
sex with men (MSM).
Promoting the
health and wellbeing of gay, bisexual
and other men who have sex with men
,
the first document of its kind from a
national body, looks at issues such as
reducing the number of new HIV
infections, rates of higher-risk drinking
and ‘use of harmful substances’.
Available at
MARKETING AND
CHILDREN
PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
are more
familiar with beer brands than leading makes
of biscuits, crisps or ice cream, according to a
new report from Alcohol Concern. Half of the
children also associated ‘official beer’ sponsor
Carlsberg with the England football team,
with those who used social media sites like
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram having the
greatest recall of alcohol brands.
DRUG COURT
ROLL OUT
THE FAMILY DRUG AND ALCOHOL COURT
(FDAC) scheme is to be extended to more
areas, the government has announced,
including Torbay, Exeter, Plymouth and
Coventry. The courts aim to keep families
affected by substance misuse together, and
offer fast-track treatment as well as help with
issues like housing and finances.
ALCOHOL DEATHS
STATIC
THE UK’S ALCOHOL-RELATED DEATH RATE
remained virtually unchanged in 2013,
according to figures from ONS, with a total of
just under 8,500 deaths. Although Scotland
saw the highest death rate, it was the only UK
country where the rate was ‘significantly
lower’ than a decade ago.
DRUG DRIVING
REGULATIONS
THE GOVERNMENT’S
drug driving regulations
have come into force, making it illegal for
someone to drive if they have a certain level of
illegal drugs in their blood. Police now have
the power to stop drivers and carry out a ‘field
impairment assessment’ if they suspect them
of being on drugs, which could lead to arrest
and a blood or urine test at a police station.
Penalties for drug driving include fines of up
to £5,000 and up to six months in prison.
News
Read the full stories, and more, online
MORE THAN HALF
(53 per cent) of respondents to
DrugScope’s latest
State of the sector
survey have
reported a reduction in the number of frontline staff, the
charity states, with 40 per cent also reporting fewer
managers and back office workers.
Based on a survey of 189 community, residential and
prison services from across England, the
State of the sector
2014-15
report records an average net funding reduction of
16.5 per cent – although this masked ‘volatility and local
variation’ – following the previous
State of the sector
document’s finding of ‘no clear signs’ of widespread
disinvestment (
DDN
, March 2014, page 4). The new report
also paints a picture of uncertainty around jobs and
services, and de-motivated staff, with ‘rapid commissioning
cycles’ one of the key concerns. Many respondents were
worried that this could put clients at risk.
More than half of community services stated that
they had been through tendering or contract
renegotiation since September 2013, with a further 49
per cent expecting this to happen by September this
year. The main gaps in provision identified by the report
were housing support, dual diagnosis/complex needs
and services for older clients, while more than 60 per
cent of respondents also reported an increase in the use
of volunteer ‘recovery champions’ and 47 per cent
increased use of other volunteers.
‘This is a period of far-reaching change for the services
in our communities who support individuals and families
affected by drug and alcohol problems,’ said DrugScope
chief executive Marcus Roberts. ‘They are now part of a
wider public health agenda, at a time when local
authorities have increased discretion over their spending
and are managing cuts to their budgets. It comes as no
surprise that substantial disinvestment is expected and
being planned for by service providers, nor that this will
vary from place to place, with some areas more badly
affected than others.’
The findings
highlighted ‘the
impact of the
constant cycle of local
commissioning and
recommissioning,
which many
respondents felt was
disruptive to services
and harmful both to
clients and staff’, he
continued. ‘Over three
quarters of those
surveyed were
working to contracts
of three years or less;
one in four
respondents reported
that their contracts
were getting shorter.’
It was vital, he
stressed, that ‘the
benefits of effective
drug and alcohol
treatment that have
been built up over
decades are not lost in
the coming years’.
Meanwhile, the
prime minister has
commissioned the Department of Health’s Prof Dame Carol
Black to conduct a review into whether people with drug or
alcohol problems should have their sickness benefits cut if
they refuse to enter treatment. Around 100,000 people
with long-term conditions such as substance problems or
obesity currently claim sickness benefits, which has
attracted controversy in sections of the press.
Marcus Roberts:
‘One in four
respondents
reported that
their contracts
were getting
shorter.’
4 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| March 2015
REDUCTION IN FRONTLINE STAFF
PHE have
produced the
first document
of its kind
from a
national body.
