Session 1
warm environment and dignity and privacy , such as could be provided in a consumption room .
The aim of her team was ‘ fundamentally about keeping people alive and avoiding disability ’, she told the conference . ‘ We want people to stay as healthy as possible whether or not they ’ re accessing drug treatment services .’
Next up was service user advocate Nick Goldstein , on the importance of getting the right connection between pharmacist and patient . As someone actively involved in pharmacists ’ training to help raise awareness of the reality faced by service users ( DDN , March 2017 , page 12 ), he stressed that the pharmacists being trained were usually ‘ quite young and open to ideas , and they ’ ve also got long careers ahead of them , so they can spread the message to others as well ’.
As he was only given a 30-minute time-slot with the trainees he needed to ‘ boil it down to two main themes ’, he said – humanity and identity . ‘ In terms of the first , I did that by talking about myself , my family and friends , my hopes , dreams , fears and woes , to show I was a person rather than a label .’ Reinforcing the second theme was important to ‘ show that we ’ re individuals ’, he told the conference . ‘ My request is simply that I want to be treated like anyone else , like someone who comes in for any other prescription .
‘ In time the questions like “ are you on drugs now ?” stop and they become things like “ what can we do for you and your community ?”’ he continued . ‘ And the tone noticeably changes as well . It shows that proper communication is vital to any therapeutic relationship .’
‘ Getting the right connection between pharmacist and patient .’
nICk GoldsteIn
Closing the first session was Birmingham GP and DDN Post-Its From Practice columnist Dr Steve Brinksman , on ensuring proper connections between doctor and patient . ‘ In 27 years of being a GP , one of the things I ’ m most pleased about is that there are now far more GPs who are willing to work with drug users ,’ he said . ‘ Things can change , and you can change people ’ s perceptions .’ There were issues of perception on both sides , however . ‘ I ’ m not going to stand here and say that every engagement with every health professional will be perfect . People like me can seem scary and bossy to you , but a lot of doctors might be as frightened as you are – remember , they haven ’ t been taught about these things in medical school .’
There were three basic models of doctor / patient relationship , he said – active / passive , guidance and cooperation , and mutual participation . While the first
enormously . ‘ There ’ s also their medical knowledge and knowledge of the patient , their family and community to consider , alongside personality , age , gender and ethnicity . ‘ Added to this were external factors like time availability , workload pressure , policy , finance and the influence of third parties . ‘ I ’ m afraid we can be constrained by some of these things ,’ he said .
‘ It ’ s essential for both parties to be honest about what they want to achieve . Sometimes there ’ s a tendency on both sides to tell the other person what you think they want to hear . Be honest , be on time , be open about what you want to achieve and behave appropriately . If you ’ re in the surgery surrounded by little children and little old grannies it ’ s important that your behaviour fits into that situation . But at the same time , doctors have to be honest , give you time and treat everyone the same ,’ he said .
Doctors also had a duty to provide information in a way that could be easily understood and that was backed up by evidence , he said . ‘ It ’ s not my choice how you define your ongoing treatment , but if we can do these things
two were sometimes necessary , ‘ we need to be moving towards mutual participation ’, he said . ‘ I might not always agree with your decisions , but they are your decisions .’
It was vital that patients and service users were empowered to ask for the right information to inform these decisions , he stressed . ‘ The relationship between practitioner and patient can be a key element in any progress made , as much as the medication .’ Key things to consider about patients were their concerns and expectations , knowledge , attitude , personality , age , gender and ethnicity , he said , while the attitudes and values of doctors could also vary
‘ there are now far more GPs willing to work with drug users .’
dr steve BrInksmAn
together we can start to work towards that mutual respect that will make a huge long-term difference .’ DDN
8 | drinkanddrugsnews | March 2018 www . drinkanddrugsnews . com