Key reading:
Drug and alcohol treatment in the North West of England 2008/09
Liverpool John Moore's Centre for Public Health, 2010
This publication details the results of the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) in the North West of England during 2008/09
Download: Full report (PDF 1.5MB)
Powder cocaine: how the treatment system is responding to a growing problem
NTA, 2010
Powder cocaine use among the general population has risen significantly during the past 15 years. According to the latest British Crime Survey, around one in ten adults have tried cocaine at some point in their lives (though only 3% in the past year). Most people who try powder cocaine will not go on to develop an addiction to the substance (this is also true for other illicit drugs). However, the number of individuals accessing treatment for a problem with powder cocaine has risen in recent years (particularly among the 18-24 age group). Most of these people receive effective abstinence-based treatment in the community. Unlike heroin, there is no substitute medication for powder cocaine. Instead, treatment consists of psychosocial techniques, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, which help users to understand and then to change their behaviour. Most powder cocaine users start treatment with a specialist drug treatment service, based in the community, within a week of being referred (on average, it takes just over five days). Powder cocaine users usually refer themselves to treatment, but they also come via the criminal justice system, GPs and other health services, and are sometimes referred by friends and family. So while powder cocaine use has increased dramatically in recent years, the treatment system has responded and ensures that relevant services are open and available to all who need them. In 2008-09 12,354 people were in treatment for a powder cocaine problem; 8,491 of those entered during that year. Of the 8,479 who left treatment in that year, 63% had beaten their dependency. These figures come from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS), which tracks the movement of people in and out of England’s drug treatment system. An additional monitoring tool, called the Treatment Outcomes Profile (TOP), provides a more detailed examination of an individual’s progress from the start of their treatment to its conclusion.
Using TOP data, this bulletin looks at a study that tracked the progress of people accessing services for powder cocaine over a period of six months. It contains results on more than 3,000 individuals, making it the single largest review of powder cocaine treatment undertaken so far.
Download: Full report (PDF 671KB)
Drug and alcohol services in Scotland
Audit Scotland, 2009.
This report provides further evidence of Scotland’s growing problem with drug and alcohol misuse. Drug and alcohol-related death rates are among the highest in Europe and have doubled in the past 15 years. Alcohol misuse is an even bigger problem than drug misuse. Alcohol problems affect many more people and cause three times the number of deaths compared with drug misuse. Key recommendations from the report include: set clear national minimum standards for drug and alcohol services; clarify accountability and governance arrangements for the delivery of services; ensure all services are based on an assessment of local need and are regularly evaluated; ensure service specifications are in place; set clear criteria for effectiveness. Audit Scotland have produced a checklist to improve the delivery of services.
Download: Full report (PDF 3MB - Warning: large file)
Getting to grips with substance misuse among young people - the data for 2007/08
NTA, 2009.
Reliable statistics on young people under 18 who receive specialist support for drug and alcohol misuse have been scarce.To address this, the National Treatment Agency (NTA) started recording data in 2005/06. This report summarises the data for 2007/08, together with information about the different typesof interventions and the context in which these young people misuse substances
Download: Full report (PDF 545KB)
Working together to reduce harm, performance management framework: substance misuse in Wales 2007-08
Health Challenge Wales, 2008.This report includes data on clients seen at drug and alcohol treatment agencies in Wales for the year to the end of March 2008. The aim of this report is to progressively year on year, provide an analysis of data from the Welsh National Database and other routinely collected sources to capture accurately emerging patterns and trends and broaden our understanding of the nature of substance misuse in Wales.
Download: Full report (PDF 2.1 MB)
Warning: large file Shooting up: infections among injecting drug users in the United Kingdom 2007. An update: October 2008.
Health Protection Agency, Centre for Infections, Health Protection Scotland
National Public Health Service for Wales, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre Northern Ireland & Centre for Research on Drugs & Health Behaviour, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 2008.
This report provides statistics on bacterial and viral infections among injecting drugs users, i.e. hepatitis A, B and C, HIV, HTLV ii,
Staphylococcus aureus Infections, Group A Streptococcal Infections and Clostridial Infections. The report looks at Priorities for the Commissioning of Services for Drug Users and Priorities for Public Health Surveillance Development and Research.
Download: Full report (PDF 1.6 MB)
Statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) 1 April 2007 - 31 March 2008
NDTMS, UK. Department of Health, NTA, University of Manchester, National Drug Evidence Centre, 2008.
National statistical report for England, based on people receiving tier 3 or 4 treatment for drug misuse. The figures show that in 2007/08, over 202,000 people were recorded in drug treatment in England, an increase on the 2006/07 figures.The number of people retained in treatment for 12 weeks or more had also increased since 2006/07.
Download: Full report (PDF 890KB)
Census of drug and alcohol treatment services in Northern Ireland, 1 March 2007
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, UK. Northern Ireland. Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, 2007.
This bulletin summarises information collected in a census of statutory and non-statutory drug and alcohol treatment services to establish the number of persons in treatment in Northern Ireland for drug and/or alcohol misuse.
Web: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/census-drug-alcohol-treatment-mar07.pdf (PDF)
