Providers of drug treatment services must be clear from now on that the long-term ambition for addicts seeking help is successful rehabilitation, under plans set out by National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse.
The body charged by the government with delivering drug treatment in England has launched an ambitious new blueprint to move people as quickly and safely as possible through treatment to recovery and re-integration in their local community.
The NTA also announced the involvement of two leading addiction experts, Prof John Strang of the National Addiction Centre and Dr David Best of the University of the West of Scotland, who will be developing key strands of the new proposals.
Chief Executive of the NTA Paul Hayes said: “With the long-term future of drug treatment assured within the new Public Health Service after 2012, the NTA intends to get on with our core business. Working with partners in drug treatment, health, councils, police, prisons, probation and social services, our focus will be on sustained recovery, demonstrable outcomes and providing better services for less money.
“We will consult widely with clinicians, practitioners and providers to identify improvements to be made to treatments which are underpinned by the latest evidence and best practice. The intention is to ensure service users do not drift into inappropriate, long-term maintenance prescribing by default without sufficient effort being made to promote positive change and long-term recovery in their lives.”
Prof Strang, who will chair an expert group to develop new clinical protocols for substitute prescribing in the community, said: “I am pleased to be involved with creating a more dynamic treatment system so that those with addiction problems can be helped in the best ways possible for their individual circumstances and personal aspirations. For some individuals, the best treatment will include the prescribing of substitute medications, while for others this may be inappropriate or unnecessary. In all instances, the objective is to enable the individual to achieve their full personal recovery, and the challenge for the expert group will be to develop clinical protocols to guide clinicians and agencies to help individuals make progress towards this objective.“
Dr Best’s contribution to the work of the expert group will focus on ways to segment the treatment population to enable commissioners and providers to direct users towards tailor made programmes which encourage them to take ownership of their own future to achieve independence and recovery from addiction. He said: “We aim to produce evidence-based guidance on typical pathways to recovery and the characteristics of the recovery journeys that are undertaken by clients in this country. That will enable us to match treatment and supporting services much more closely to the users who will benefit from them.”
The key themes of the NTA 2010/11 Business Plan, which has been signed off by government ministers, are:
- Improving outcomes for those in treatment;
- Providing better value for money from central investment;
- Championing abstinence-focussed treatment;
- Re-balancing the system to ensure a consistent approach to commissioning community and residential rehabilitation.
- A new recovery-oriented blueprint for the treatment system to replace the current framework, Models of Care for Treatment of Adult Drug Misusers, last updated in 2006.
- Consultation with clinicians, practitioners and providers to ensure that any changes are underpinned by the latest evidence and best practice.
The new direction of travel follows the announcement that the NTA will continue as a separate organisation until 2012 when its functions will be transferred into the proposed new Public Health Service.
Further details about how the Public Health Service will operate are expected to be set out in a White Paper on public health later this year. At the same time the government is reviewing the Drug Strategy, and is expected to set out its distinctive vision after the outcome of the comprehensive spending review in the autumn.
Full details of the NTA Business Plan can be found here.
NOTE TO EDITORS:
For further information and media interview requests please contact the NTA press office on 020 7972 1920
The National Addictions Centre, King’s Health Partners (NAC) seeks to improve understanding of addiction to drugs, alcohol and tobacco, and to develop effective preventative and treatment interventions. It is collaboration between researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), King’s College London and clinicians at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM). Both SLaM and King’s College London are partners in King’s Health Partners. Professor John Strang is director of the National Addictions Centre, King’s Health Partners. For more information or to arrange interviews please contact the Communications Department on 020 3228 2830.