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Strategy

Drug and Alcohol Strategy

B&NES strategy for reducing use of drugs and alcohol

  • Published date: 02 August 2023
  • Last updated: 27 October 2023

Details

Our aim is to focus on prevention alongside early intervention, and support those that experience difficulties with substance use by having an effective treatment and recovery support system.

Our four priorities are to:

Reduce demand for substances in the B&NES population

To achieve this priority we will:

  • create a change in culture around drugs and alcohol, including raising awareness and educating children, parents, and young adults. We want to empower them to make informed choices when it comes to substances and reduce the use of alcohol and other drugs.
  • focus on Early Intervention through a Whole Family approach, including work with children and young people with vulnerabilities, and with families affected by parental substance use
  • reduce crime that leads to the supply of illegal drugs, including work to combat Serious Organised Crime and County Lines
  • increase and improve our service user representation and feedback into decision making and service review
  • embed substance use recognition, early intervention, and referral to treatment across the B&NES health and care system, and in partnership with other sectors including housing, probation, prisons, businesses, schools and universities, using evidence-based approaches and tools
  • work closely with licensing and businesses, particularly the Night Time Economy to understand issues in B&NES and support collaborative action where needed, promoting a safe, thriving economy

Support more adults and young people to access and benefit from treatment and recovery services

To achieve this priority we will:

  • increase the number of people going through treatment for substance use, (including residential rehabilitation), with the aim that more people will achieve recovery and/or their treatment goals. This will include a focus on longer term recovery and integration into the community, including developing recovery communities
  • continually review our approach to prioritise evidence-based interventions, build in best practice and respond to local data, so we can support more people to recover and/or achieve their treatment goals. This includes reviewing our treatment service capacity and workforce requirements for adults and young people in relation to local need
  • support transition between settings and services for individuals with substance use, with a focus on continuity of care for secure settings and mental health services, as well as for young people moving into adult services
  • build engagement with underrepresented communities and underserved groups adversely affected by substance use and/or the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes ensuring services are accessible to all, using Assertive Outreach or unstructured interventions to build trust and engagement where needed

Prevent and reduce harms from drugs and alcohol, including preventing drug and alcohol-related deaths

To achieve this priority we will:

  • embed harm reduction including prescribing best-practice, Opioid Substitution Therapy, naloxone availability and training in our adult services, and in treatment pathways
  • continue to learn from people who experience harms, building a B&NES nonfatal overdose notification system and drug alert system, and embedding our learning from drug-related deaths
  • work collaboratively across our system to identify and support high risk individuals or groups, including work with the Acute Trust to understand and prevent hospital admissions for alcohol in young people
  • strengthen our harm reduction approach, including improving needle exchange programmes and continuing to review national guidance and legislative frameworks
  • address the indirect and long-term health impacts of drugs and alcohol, using new tools such as fibro scanning, and improving pathways for diagnosis and treatment of physical conditions in an ageing treatment population. This includes chronic respiratory disease, cognitive impairment, Blood Borne Viruses, and liver disease
  • reduce substance-use related crime and break the cycle between substance use and illegal activity. We will use opportunities to engage with people in contact with the criminal justice system and support them to access treatment services
  • build on our outreach offer to bring treatment and other forms of unstructured support to individuals who are less engaged with services

Support the health and social needs of adults and young people with complex lives

To achieve this priority we will:

  • develop our pathways and links between services for adults and young people with complexities (including dual diagnosis) for early identification and referral from substance use treatment services to the right support service, including primary care, secondary care and specialist services
  • build capacity and expertise in our treatment system and wider healthcare system for working with adults and young people with complexities, including dual diagnosis clients, to provide holistic trauma-informed care
  • take a holistic approach to the physical, mental health, and social needs of adults and young people in specialist substance use treatment, including their potential to do voluntary or paid work
  • develop our pathways to identify and engage with people with substance use in contact with the criminal justice system, including on release from prison, on arrest and on probation
  • develop our pathways to identify and engage with people substance use who are at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness, supporting more into treatment as part of their recovery
  • work across healthcare to address physical health needs of people who use substances, including meeting additional training needs in our wider healthcare system, and considering pathways and interventions for chronic respiratory disease, cognitive impairment and liver disease

Implementation of this atrategy will be overseen by the Bath and North East Somerset Drug and Alcohol Partnership with supporting governance.

Documents

Last updated 27 October 2023