The Healthcare Commission and the National Treatment Agency have concluded that people seeking treatment for a drug problem face services which are still patchy.
Published today, the review of 149 drug action teams (DATs) in England found that while significant progress had been made, provision was deemed good or excellent in only a third of dedicated DATs. Overall, 5 per cent of DATs were rated as excellent, 23 per cent as good, 71 per cent as fair and 1 per cent as weak.
The take up of drug services has, however, increased dramatically, with around 160,000 people joining treatment programmes in 2004/05, compared with 85,000 in 1998/99. On average waiting times for treatment have dropped from 9.1 weeks (December 2001) to 2.4 weeks (September 2005).
Martin Barnes, chief executive of DrugScope, said: "It is right that treatment providers are being held to account in the delivery of services for drug users, and much-needed improvements are being made.
"Clearly, however, the commissioning and management of services must improve if best practice and value for money are to be achieved across the board, especially within the NHS."
Public accountability for the quality of drug treatment services is a vital part of the process of embedding them in the health and social care sector to ensure they receive secure levels of funding in future years. Any progress made will otherwise be undone."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Posted: 7th September 2006
