UPFRONT
Drink and Drugs News is published by CJ Wellings Ltd , Romney House , School Road , Ashford , Kent TN27 0LT t : 0845 299 3429
Editor : Claire Brown e : claire @ cjwellings . com
Advertising manager : Ian Ralph e : ian @ cjwellings . com
Reporter : David Gilliver e : david @ cjwellings . com
Designer : Jez Tucker e : jez @ cjwellings . com
Subscriptions : e : subs @ cjwellings . com
website : www . drinkanddrugsnews . com
Website support by wiredupwales . com
Printed on environmentally friendly paper by the Manson Group Ltd
Cover by : Creative Control / Alamy
CJ Wellings Ltd does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of statements made by contributors or advertisers .
The contents of this magazine are the copyright of CJ Wellings Ltd , but do not necessarily represent its views , or those of its partner organisations .
IN THIS ISSUE
6
ON THE COVER – care homes and alcohol
19
Complex
needs engagement
Support into work
20
INSIDE
4 NEWS Warning on drug strategy funding ; barriers to rehab in Scotland
8 ALCOHOL GUIDELINES Opportunity knocks ?
10 LET ’ S ENGAGE RCGP / AP conference 12 DRUG CHECKING An urgent campaign 14 HEPATITIS C Effective collaboration 16 NALOXONE A peer-to-peer app 18 LETTERS & COMMENT 24 REFERRAL Acting quickly
Prison careers
22
‘ STRONGER TOGETHER ’
The DDN National Conference Thursday 11 July , Birmingham Join the consultation :
https :// www . drinkanddrugsnews . com / ddn-conference-consultation-2024 /
DDN is a self-funded independent publication . Our bespoke partnership packages provide an opportunity to work closely with the magazine . Please get in touch to find out more .
‘ We ’ re at a pivotal point ... there ’ s a lot to do .’
The vice chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners says that addiction involves many complex problems and ‘ the solutions won ’ t come from medicine alone ’. She was speaking at the RCGP ’ s joint conference with Addiction Professionals ( AP ) and throughout two days there was animated discussion about addressing all the other things going on in a person ’ s life – the things that profoundly influence health .
We ’ re at a pivotal point . Prof Dame Carol Black tells us that we need to make our case for why a boost in funding has not had the desired impact on drug-related deaths . We have the evidence to fight for more funding – synthetic opioids are flooding the market , prison aftercare is under-resourced and inadequate , alcohol strategy is in its infancy , mental health and addiction services are not working in harmony as they should be , vital specialisms are draining away when they ’ re more needed that ever , the workforce is demoralised ... to say there ’ s a lot to do is an understatement .
So I ’ ll point you in the direction of inspirational initiatives on every page of this month ’ s issue and urge you to get involved . Feed back to your DDN community what ’ s working well – and share your challenges . Claire Brown , editor www . drinkanddrugsnews . com and @ DDNmagazine
WWW . DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS . COM MARCH 2024 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 3