If we are to cut crime and save lives there ' s one thing we can all agree on ; we need fresh ideas .
Alcohol misuse is implicated in a third of child neglect and abuse cases
‘ Substantial health benefits ’
News
WEST MIDLANDS PCC PROPOSES CONSUMPTION ROOMS AND PRESCRIBED HEROIN
A RANGE OF PROPOSED HARM REDUCTION MEASURES to cut drug-related crime and deaths , and reduce costs to public services , has been set out by West Midlands police and crime commissioner ( PCC ) David Jamieson . They include prescribing heroin in a medical setting for people who have not responded to other forms of treatment , establishing a formal scheme to divert people away from the courts and into treatment , and ‘ considering the benefits ’ of consumption rooms .
Other measures in the PCC ’ s report include joining up funding streams for police , public health and community safety to increase efficiency , introducing on-site drug testing in the night-time economy , and equipping and training police in the use of naloxone . More money could also be seized from large-scale drug dealers to invest in treatment , it says . Half of all burglary , theft , shoplifting and robbery in the region is thought to be committed by people with serious drug issues , at a cost of £ 1.4bn per year . Jamieson ’ s announcement follows similar proposals from other PCCs including those for Durham ( DDN , March 2017 , page 4 ) and North Wales ( DDN , September 2017 , page 5 ).
‘ Despite the good work being done by many , collectively our approach to drugs is failing ,’ said Jamieson . ‘ It means people are forced to live with more crime , public services are put under strain and not enough is done to reduce the suffering of those who are addicted . If we are to cut crime and save lives there ' s one thing we can all agree on ; we need fresh ideas . These are bold but practical proposals that will reduce crime , the cost to the public purse and the terrible harm caused by drugs .’
Jamieson wanted to see many of the measures ‘ in place and having an effect ’ by the end of his term of office in 2020 , he said . ‘ I will be working with partner organisations intensively over the coming period to deliver on these practical and common-sense proposals .’
The announcement has been welcomed by organisations including Release , Transform , the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and the Royal Society
BE BRIEF
TARGETED TRAINING leads to a ‘ significant increase ’ in the delivery of alcohol brief interventions in primary care , according to a study by Alcohol Research UK and SMMGP . Specifically trained nurse mentors are able to play a key role in leading and delivering interventions and brief advice ( IBA ), says the study , with even a ‘ relatively low level of support ’ helping to reduce alcohol-related harm within existing resources . ‘ The primary care team has great strengths in identifying , assessing and preventing health harms ,’ said lead author Dr Steve Brinksman . Supporting for Public Health ( RSPH ). The recommendations were an ‘ important and welcome contribution to the growing momentum behind common sense drug policy reform in the UK ’, said RSPH chief executive Shirley Cramer . ‘ Health professionals , police , and the public are all agreed that a public health – rather than criminal justice – approach to drug policy is what is needed to tackle rising rates of drug harm in this country and beyond . It is heartening to hear more influential voices , with on the ground experience of these issues , give these measures their backing .’
The measures ‘ would undoubtedly save lives if implemented ’, added Release executive director Niamh Eastwood . ‘ Yet again , the police are leading the way in the debate for drug policy reform while the government continues to pursue the failed approach of prohibition and criminalisation . The government must consider the insight of police officers , many of whom are on the frontline of the so-called war on drugs , witnessing the horrific impacts that prohibition has on communities every day .’
Read more on PCC strategies in our April issue .
nurse mentors could increase ‘ practical implementation of an evidence-based cost effective intervention which has experienced patchy uptake ’, he added . Supporting nurse mentors to reduce the barriers to implementing alcohol interventions and brief advice in primary care at alcoholresearchuk . org
PARENTING MATTERS
PARENTAL ALCOHOL MISUSE is implicated in more than a third of cases involving the death or serious injury of a child through neglect or abuse in England , according to a cross-party report from the Parliamentary Office of
If we are to cut crime and save lives there ' s one thing we can all agree on ; we need fresh ideas .
DAvID JAmIeSon
Alcohol misuse is implicated in a third of child neglect and abuse cases
Science and Technology . Between 189,000 and 208,000 children are thought to live with an alcohol-dependent adult , although these figures are ‘ likely to underestimate the scale of the issue ’, says Parental alcohol misuse and children . Available at www . parliament . uk
PROBLEM PRESCRIPTIONS
NINE OUT OF TEN areas where GPs prescribe the most opioid drugs are in the north of England , according to UCL research published in the British Journal of General Practice . Prescriptions are ‘ steadily rising ’, particularly in deprived communities , it states . ‘ We feel that the most important finding is the extremely strong association between the amount of opioids prescribed and lower socioeconomic status ,’ said lead author Dr Luke Mordecai . ‘ The variation across the country is undeniable and , given the morbidity and mortality associated with this class of drugs , unacceptable .’ A major independent review into the ‘ growing problem ’ of prescription drug dependency was recently launched by PHE ( DDN , February , page 4 ). Patterns of regional variation of opioid prescribing in primary care in England at bjgp . org
RISK / REWARD
Vaping poses ‘ only a small fraction ’ of the risks of smoking , and NHS trusts should ensure that e-cigarettes are available for sale in hospital shops , says an updated evidence review from PHE . While switching completely from cigarettes to e-cigarettes conveys ‘ substantial health benefits ’, there is widespread public misunderstanding around vaping risks , it states . ‘ It would be tragic if thousands of smokers who could quit with the help of an e- cigarette are being put off due to false fears about their safety ,’ said PHE ’ s director for health improvement Professor John Newton . E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products : evidence review at www . gov . uk
‘ Substantial health benefits ’
ProfeSSor John newton
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