NTA media release: 04 June 2009
Drug treatment services across England will benefit from £11.8m of extra investment from the Department of Health for service improvements this year, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) announced today.
About one quarter of the additional extra capital funding for 2009/10, or £2.9m, will be earmarked specifically for expanding the residential treatment sector, and a list of the successful bidders can be found in the notes to editors. Residential providers will also be able to bid for the remaining allocation.
The £2.9m will pay for a range of extra provision, including over 50 new beds, upgrades and refurbishment projects to improve quality for services and improving supported accommodation including disability access. This new funding is additional to the 500 plus beds created by a previous bidding round for £54.3m worth of capital projects in the 07/08 strategic bidding over three years, which was oversubscribed.
The announcement coincides with the publication of an NTA report describing the good practice identified among the best-performing rehabilitation and detoxification centres in a recent joint review with the Healthcare Commission. The report highlights how innovative models of residential treatment are emerging in some parts of the country, including supported housing linked to structured treatment, and services tailored to local recovery communities.
The remaining £8.9m will be allocated following a bidding process to support upgrades and improvements for drug treatment services in residential, community or prison settings, including young people's services and measures to improve the family-focus of adult treatment services. The focus of bids should be on improving treatment quality, outcomes, recovery and reintegration support.
Paul Hayes, NTA Chief Executive said:
“Improving treatment quality and outcomes for service users is the focus of the NTA’s work and will be where this new money is spent. A significant portion of this funding is earmarked for the residential rehabilitation and inpatient detoxification sector, which needs to grow in both capacity and quality to ensure patient choice in an individual’s path to recovery from drug dependency.
“All drug treatment services, residential rehabilitation included, need to dedicate themselves to delivering effective, evidenced-based treatment in order to remain viable. The NTA’s ‘Good Practice’ report details how rehabs can do this on the basis of what the very best are offering, and identifies a growing trend for rehabs to be based in the communities from which clients come from. The NTA is committed to supporting new innovations in delivery where they show improved results for the people who use services, so will be monitoring this development with interest.”
For further media information contact Pamela Shabi, NTA Interim Senior Communications Officer
Tel: 020 7972 1920 Email:pamela.shabi@nta-nhs.org.uk
Notes to editors
The NTA was set up by the Government in 2001 to improve the availability, capacity and effectiveness of treatment for drug misuse in England.
The list of successful bids for the £2.9m is:
Stonham (Care and Support Division of Home): Stabilisation Service Vale House; Derby City Community Safety Partnership; Nottingham County Teaching PCT, Nottingham County SP; Cranstoun (Oak Lodge and Supported Housing facilities); Park View Project; Acorn Treatment and Housing (part of ADAS); Greater Manchester West MHFT; Inward House; Sefton Recovery Community; Bosco House; Yelldall Manor; Bosence Farm; Broadreach House; Broadway Lodge; Murray Lodge; Walsall DAAT; Willowdene.
Bids for the remaining capital funding should show evidence that they support the undertaking of work that is needs-led, approved by one or more drug partnerships and a lead Primary Care Trust (PCT), as they will receive the funds from DH on behalf of successful bidders and that work can be completed by 31st March 2010. Submissions to NTA regional teams must be received no later than 30th June 2009.
Drug treatment comes in a variety of forms and settings, of which residential rehabilitation is one, and may be preceded by detoxification either in the community or as an inpatient. About 16,000 adults access residential drug treatment services every year, with the average stay lasting three months. An extra 50 beds would therefore accommodate about 200 people over a year. Experience shows that most drug users – even though needing intensive treatment – can make adequate changes whilst in community treatment, but residential treatment may be recommended by clinicians for a minority with severe problems.
The ‘Residential Drug Treatment Services: A Summary of Good Practice’ report can be downloaded from www.nta.nhs.uk.
The Healthcare Commission merged with Mental Health Act Commission and the Commission for Social Care Inspection on 1 April 2009 to form the Care Quality Commission.
