Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Accepted
Health services are failing to adequately identify and refer alcohol-dependent individuals for treatment.
Conclusion
Most people entering treatment for alcohol dependency in England self-refer. In 2021– 22, only 23% of referrals were from health services.40 Our expert witnesses thought much more could be done to identify people early and direct them towards treatment. Ms Taylor 30 Qq 11, 65 31 Qq 64, 86 32 C&AG’s Report, paras 3.8–3.9, Figure 14 33 Q 1; Public Health England, Guidance Alcohol and drug prevention, treatment and recovery: why invest?, 12 February 2018 34 C&AG’s Report, para 3.3 and Figure 12 35 Qq 33–34 36 Q 33 37 Q 3 38 Qq 17, 20–21; C&AG’s Report, para 3.4 39 Qq 3, 7 40 Q 26; C&AG’s Report, para 3.7 and Figure 13 14 Alcohol treatment services wanted to see better partnership working across primary and secondary care to help with early identification of people drinking to excess and to ensure there are effective pathways into treatment. Sir Ian thought that alcohol care teams in hospitals were good news, noting that most patients coming into hospital would be seen and assessed. He cautioned that there was a long way to go and he feared many, particularly the most vulnerable, would still fall through gaps because the signposting to treatment, the training of alcohol workers and the links with the charitable sector were not yet good enough.41
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's implicit recommendation on early identification and treatment pathways. It is developing UK-wide clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment for consultation in Summer 2023 and final publication later in the year, and a joint action plan with NHS England to address co-occurring conditions by Spring 2025.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2025 4.2 Increasing the numbers of dependent alcohol and drug users in treatment is a key aim of the additional drug strategy investment. 4.3 The department is providing a range of support to all local authorities for identifying and addressing barriers to engagement with treatment, including interpretation of local data, advice on specific treatment pathways, troubleshooting and sharing of best practice. Further targeted support is also provided to high priority areas for service improvement. 4.4 The department, in partnership with the devolved administrations, is developing the first UK-wide clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment, which include guidance for commissioners and services on addressing barriers to treatment. The guidelines will go out for public consultation in Summer 2023 and final guidelines will be published later in the year. 4.5 The department and NHS England are developing a joint action plan to address co-occurring mental health and drug/alcohol-related conditions. This programme of work will improve access to mental health services for people with drug and alcohol misuse conditions, as well as improve the links between mental health and substance misuse services. 4.6 The department already published the Commissioning Quality Standard for drug and alcohol treatment services in August 2022. This includes requirements for local authorities to engage with other local services, such as mental health providers, to provide coordinated packages of care that support recovery, including for people with co-occurring mental health conditions.