An edited version of this letter appears in The Independent today (17 August)

Dear Sir,

Nina Lakhani's plea for more rehabilitation for young addicts ('Rehab needs a fix', The Wednesday feature, 3 August 2011) gave such a one-sided view of the current state of drug treatment and recovery services in this country that she did a grave disservice to the 10,000 doctors, nurses and drug workers who provide them.

Any adult who needs help with a drug problem will receive it through their GP or a community service. Treatment typically consists of talking therapies and other psychosocial interventions to change behaviour, often with peer support to assist recovery, and prescribed medication specifically for heroin addicts. Official statistics show 94% wait less than three weeks to start treatment. What's important is that the type of therapy is right for the individual, not the particular setting in which it is delivered.

A spell away from home in residential rehab is a valuable option in the full spectrum of services, and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends it in the most serious cases. However, NICE also concludes that there is no robust evidence that residential settings are superior to community-based services, particularly given the additional costs.

In the case of heroin addicts, who form 80 per cent of those in treatment, NICE is clear that medication to wean them off drugs is the preferred method. This has the added advantage that it is better for everyone else that a heroin addict gets a safe methadone prescription from a doctor than robs or steals to buy street heroin from a dealer. 

There are about 120 rehabs in England, with more than 2,000 beds and an average occupancy of 80%. This compares to 1,200 NHS and voluntary sector community services meeting the needs of over 200,000 patients every year. Nina Lakhani is right that some rehabs have closed, but others are opening. Some struggle to attract clients, but others are full. The sector is changing rapidly, as the traditional model of the "big house in the country" is challenged by successful new services in inner city settings, giving more addicts a chance to overcome dependency within their own community and making it more likely that they will sustain their recovery.

The overall number of people successfully beating their addiction is increasing year on year. Rather than the 8,000 a year implied by Ms Lakhani, almost 24,000 successfully overcome dependency in 2009-10 and we anticipate this will increase to 28,000 in 2010-11.

Services for young people are quite different, since relatively few are addicted to hard drugs. Nine out of ten of the 24,000 youngsters who currently receive specialist help for substance misuse have problems with cannabis or alcohol. Their needs are best met close to home, as part of a broader package of care.

Anyone under 18 who has got to the point of requiring residential care will almost certainly need help with more than drink and drugs – such as family breakdown, mental health concerns, disrupted schooling, and offending. One-dimensional "teen rehab" will not be able to provide the range of services these challenged young people deserve.

This is the reality behind the government's commitment, which the NTA is helping to implement, to transform the treatment system into a recovery system which focuses not only on getting people into treatment but getting them into full recovery and off drugs for good.