Recommendation 25

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted

The Government accepts this recommendation, as it echoes the expectations of local delivery of the Drug Strategy as outlined in the guidance for local delivery partners and the Commissioning Quality Standard. Guidance for local partners delivering the Drug Strategy sets out the principles that should be adopted by Combating Drugs Partnerships (CDPs), including access and quality. This states that “everyone is able to access timely, appropriate support in a form that respects the full, interconnected nature of their needs, wishes and background”. There should also be flexibility within local partnerships to respond and tailor approaches according to need. The expectations of needs assessments to be conducted by CDPs were laid out clearly in the guidance and communicated and discussed through webinars and other meetings with local stakeholders. The guidance outlines that needs assessments, delivery plans and progress reviews should be seen as linked elements of a continuous process to analyse the situation, plan actions to improve it, take these actions, and reflect on what has been learnt – as part of a cycle to better understand the situation and how to improve it. The guidance states that this work should specifically include consideration of the accessibility of services and any disparities across demographics or geography. The Department of Health and Social Care’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) published the Commissioning Quality Standard: alcohol and drug services in 2022. The CQS purpose is to guide processes, partnerships, and systems for effective commissioning of alcohol and drug treatment services to help improve treatment access, outcomes, and quality. This guidance refers to specific barriers to treatment and recovery and enables local partners to assess their commissioning practices, including through a self-assessment tool. OHID has commissioned a National Institute for Health and Care Research call through the Policy Research Programme (call 30–02–08. Need for substance misuse treatment). The winning bid has the project title ‘Unmet Need for Substance Misuse Treatment among Opioid, Crack and Dependent Alcohol Users.’ The aim of this research is to explore the current circumstances and histories of out-of-treatment substance users, and the barriers to treatment engagement and how might these be addressed in future. It consists of two case studies, a literature review, interviews with professionals and drug users out of treatment. The project started in January 2022 and is expected to finish in 2024. 10 Stigma Research Stream | Centre for Social Research in Health - UNSW Sydney OHID released an unmet need toolkit on 23 August. It provides local areas with updated estimates of the prevalence of opiate and / or crack cocaine use as well as the estimated number of people with alcohol dependency. National Drug Treatment Monitoring System data is also included in the toolkit to report the levels of unmet need for the different prevalence substance groups as well as by age, sex and for people that are currently or previously injecting. This data shows for which cohorts treatment access is currently working well and for which it is not. Additionally, a range of guidance documents have been incorporated that offer advice, evidence, and examples of good practice in reducing unmet need and in improving referral pathways and the general attractiveness of drug and alcohol treatment for those that require it. We welcome the strategy’s recommendation that the membership of local Combating Drugs Partnerships should include people affected by drug-related harm because it gives people with lived experience a platform to help reduce barriers to treatment and recovery at a local level. However, we question whether this is reflected at a national level.