NTA media release: 14 September 2009
The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) has clarified today that contrary to a story in today’s Independent, it is not calling for a nationwide roll-out of ‘shooting galleries’ for injectable heroin.
In line with the government’s Drug Strategy, which called for a range of approaches to tackle drug addiction, an independent expert group has reviewed the interim evidence on injectable heroin following a pilot study, and has recommended to government that there should be further demonstration sites. The NTA has provided the secretariat to the expert group and is scoping out options for taking the research to the next stage. A conference held tomorrow (Tuesday 15th September 2009) by Action on Addiction and the National Addiction Centre will report on the findings from the pilot study.
Paul Hayes, NTA Chief Executive, said today:
“Drug treatment is very effective, and cost effective, for the vast majority of heroin addicts. However there are some whose problems are so entrenched that the government committed in the Drug Strategy to explore pilots of injectable heroin in controlled, clinical settings. The interim results of the pilots’ study seem encouraging, and we share the government’s commitment to develop new and innovative ways to tackle drug addiction.
“No-one is suggesting that this should be the front line treatment for heroin addiction. Heroin has been available on prescription since the 1920s to a very limited number of addicts, and these pilots are simply to explore whether controlled prescribing of injectable heroin will be effective in overcoming their problems, minimizing the harm to the public, reducing crime, and cost effective for the taxpayer. In particular the pilots need to identify how many individuals might benefit from this treatment, but at most we are talking about a very small proportion of the 160,000 heroin addicts in treatment.”
The heroin treatment findings expected will provide important research for the treatment of a minority of addicts who have severe heroin or opioid dependency, and who fail to benefit from other prescribed treatments. The NTA is yet to see the final report pitched against an independent cost-effectiveness analysis and looks forward to considering its findings.
Drug treatment in England has expanded since the NTA was created in 2001, so now virtually anyone in England who needs drug treatment can get it, and quickly. The standard front-line treatment for heroin addiction, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, is substitute prescribing (such as methadone) combined with psychosocial interventions (such as counselling), which will continue to be the appropriate treatment for the vast majority.
The Randomised Injectable Opioid Treatment Trial (RIOTT) is a research study led by the National Addiction Centre and the charity Action on Addiction. RIOTT is overseen by a Project Advisory Group which includes the Home Office, Department of Health, the NTA and a range of other stakeholders. An independent expert group was asked by DH to look at emerging evidence about injectable heroin and methadone in order to advise Government on a way forward and has concluded that there is enough positive evidence of the benefits to merit further demonstration sites. This treatment is supervised and managed in clinical settings using pharmaceutical diamorphine prescribed by a doctor and should not be confused with the use of street heroin where some countries legalise consumption rooms often known as ‘shooting galleries’.
ENDS
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 www.nta.nhs.uk
For further information contact Yvonne Lloyd, Senior Communications Officer
Tel. 0207 972 1920 Email: yvonne.lloyd@nta-nhs.org.uk
