LEE COLLINGHAM
,
service user activist and advocate:
Nottingham city has that rare
commodity so often missing these days
within local drug commissioning teams
– a full-time user involvement worker.
Over the last decade these roles have
gradually disappeared around the
country despite, as is shown by the
Nottingham model, user involvement
being integral to successful drug and
alcohol treatment – be it with an
individual’s care plan or the planning of
what services need to provide, as well
as assisting in delivering those
specialist services.
Even companies like Tesco and
Facebook talk and work with their
customers, something that seems to
have been lost in most areas within
drug treatment in the light of funding
cuts, localisation, and the demise of
specialist commissioning teams and
the NTA.
By working closely with service
users, both providers and
commissioners can better shape
services to meet local needs and
achieve successful outcomes.
GLEN JARVIS
,
service user involvement officer,
Nottingham City Council Crime and
Drugs Partnership:
The Crime and Drugs Partnership (CDP)
has a long-standing commitment to
involvement and consultation going
back more than ten years. At that time
the partnership commissioned mostly
treatment services, with NHS funding,
so our involvement and consultation
structures were built upon guidance
and duties around health-related
legislation and the NHS constitution.
‘User involve-
ment is integral
to successful
drug and alcohol
treatment ’
LEE COLLINGHAM
The NiNTh NaTioNal Service USer coNfereNce
Asking delegates from all over
the country for a picture of service
user involvement brought forth
some distressing stories of groups
being dissolved, dysfunctional
partnerships – and frustratingly,
fear of talking about the situation
against a backdrop of threatened
redundancies. Here members of
the Nottingham team tell us
about a system they believe is
working well. We’re relying on
you to let us know what’s
happening in your area.
