Date: 01 Apr 2002
Outline of Project:
The Newham Community Drug Team (NCDT) seeks to support both individuals and family members from culturally diverse groups in the area to engage with drug treatment. By working in a sensitive manner with both clients and drug treatment providers, NCDT staff ensure that cultural barriers to access and sustaining engagement are removed where possible.
An example of this would be ensuring that Muslim clients are not asked to attend appointments on Friday or that methadone consumption times are changed during periods of fasting. Identifying and tackling these barriers to treatment access works to ensure sustained engagement with drug treatment.
NCDT also provide easy access to translation services for clients and their families, as well as information sources being available in different languages.
In order to address issues of shame and stigma attached to drug misuse by many ethnic groups, the NCDT also run 9 satellite support services in GP's surgeries, which provides a more suitable level of discretion and confidentiality for some individuals and cultural groups.
The service has an ethnically diverse staff team with 9 out of 20 of the team members originating from different ethnic backgrounds. Diversity within the staff team allows a stronger, more detailed understanding, knowledge and awareness of cultural diversity and factors that may affect under or non engagement with drug services.
The Project also employs 3 Development Workers to develop links with community groups and to develop a borough- wide presence and public profile. These workers are for Afro Caribbean, Asian and Asian women's development work.
The staff team have completed training around diversity and faith issues and this ensures that the staff team present a multi cultural and knowledgeable approach to both the community and the clients.
Aims and Objectives:
the aim was to support and sustain the engagement of BME clients in drug treatment programmes.
Objectives:
• To ensure that NCDT meet needs of the community it works in and that the service users reflect the diverse BME groups in Newham.
• To provide appropriate and accessible service for all sectors of the community of borough of Newham
• To remain proactive in meeting the needs of an ever changing local
population.
Outcomes/Evaluation:
• Service user groups held every 6weeks (75% of participants are BME and are actively involved in attending events to promote the services at NCDT)
• Commissioner monitoring (quarterly reports, targets)
• Ongoing analysis of client referral groups ensures that new cultural trends are identified and the needs of new cultural groups can be met. Since 2003, the main referrals have been from Black, Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani clients. During 2008, referrals from Eastern European clients have increased and this will require the development of a more culturally appropriate service response.
Outcomes:
• An increase in the number of BME clients accessing drug treatment
• An increase in the duration of time spent in treatment by BME clients
• Positive outcomes for clients completing their treatment journey
• What outcomes have been achieved so far ?
• Increased awareness of culturally specific support needs around engaging and retaining BME clients in drug treatment.
• An increase in the number of BME clients engaging in treatment
• An increase in the number of different community groups engaging with the service.
A Newham wide needs assessment and equality impact assessment highlighted good practice at NCDT. In particular feedback from the Bangladeshi Community stated that they felt positive about accessing services with NCDT and had been encouraged to engage through the word of mouth of peers.
NCDT has been set a local Service Level Agreement target to ensure that 50% of clients engaged in treatment are from BME communities – we are currently engaging with 62% from BME groups.
Date Added: 16 Jun 2010
