Policy
Breaking point
Chronic lack of investment is gambling with lives , agreed members of the parliamentary group
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The current culture of disinvestment is affecting all aspects of social policy and is creating a negative cycle that does not support recovery in any way , shape or form ,’
Kevin Jaffray told a recent meeting of the Drugs , Alcohol and Justice Cross-Party Parliamentary Group .
‘ The continued financial restrictions cannot produce any of the desired outcomes , but are instead having a negative impact on penetration and retention , which results in the continued rise in demand for substances , which then escalates the criminal involvement in supply , and together they increase the cost to the wider community ,’ he said .
Furthermore : ‘ When there is inconsistency in care , due to the constant fear of future security and stability , it makes it impossible to maintain the standard of care that the UK was once held in international high esteem for … we are now beyond breaking point and paying with our lives .’
Jaffray , a peer educator and trainer , made the case for urgent reinvestment in the sector and called for an end to the increasingly competitive market that compromised standards of care . Genuine service user involvement should be integral to running local services and keeping risks and preventable harms in check .
‘ Enough is enough ,’ he concluded . ‘ We demand action – no more deaths , lest you are prepared to live with our blood on your hands .’
The group opened discussion on Jaffray ’ s points through reviewing their recent Charter for change ( DDN , May , page 7 ).
‘ We once had services that led the way ,’ said Yasmin Batliwala , chair of Westminster Drug Project . ‘ We now need to do a lot to catch up with countries in the developing world that are doing a lot more for their service users . The sign of a civilised society is how it cares for its most vulnerable .’
John Jolly , chief executive of Blenheim , highlighted the prominence of an evidence-based alcohol strategy in the charter , aimed at tackling deaths from liver disease , many cancers , high blood pressure , cirrhosis and depression . The crisis in hospitals was exacerbated by beds being blocked because of alcohol-related issues , he said , adding ‘ it ’ s been an uphill battle to get an alcohol strategy ’.
Chronic health conditions – including hepatitis C , which had 90 per cent of cases relating to drug use – far outnumbered deaths from drug-related poisoning ,
‘ We once had services that led the way ...’
Yasmin BatliWala he pointed out .
‘ We ’ re failing by the rationing of treatment for a stigmatised group of people ,’ he said , because ‘ there is no mandate for local authorities to produce drug and alcohol treatment ’. The loss of ring-fence around funding combined with the cost pressures on local authorities made their decisions impossible : ‘ If you ’ re choosing between drug treatment and social care for the elderly , which do you choose ?’
‘ Huge pressures on the system and lack of invest - ment in the sector ’ left an ‘ inability to respond to the huge health issues that are coming our way ’, he warned .
‘ We know the impact on employment chances among other things ,’ added Sophie Paley of Addaction . ‘ We ’ ve got the evidence – we need the government to act on it .’
MEDIA SAVVY
The news , and the skews , in the national media
DRUG ABUSE WILL CONTINUE NO MATTER how long the sentences and how many police officers are seconded in the hopeless fight . Our prisons will continue to be pits of despair , families will continue to be driven into separation and squalor and our town |
centres increasingly populated by fellow citizens zombified from some unsafe illegal concoction they gave a dealer a tenner for . Time for a change in strategy . Independent editorial , 2 August
AGAINST A BACKDROP OF INCREASING POLICY INNOVATION in the wider world , the main aims of [ the 2017 drug strategy ] are largely unchanged from the previous 2010 version . There ’ s still a focus on recovery , rather than harm reduction . A continued commitment to tackling the problems caused by drugs through the criminal justice system , rather than through the health system . A point blank refusal to consider decriminalisation , or any reforms to
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the Misuse of Drugs Act . Worse , what good initiatives there are in the strategy – and there are some – seem to have been dreamed up by minds unfettered by the reality of public health , criminal justice and policing systems squeezed to breaking point . Henry Fisher , Guardian , 15 July
TRUMP ’ S OPIOID COMMISSION OFFERED HOPE that the epidemic would finally get the attention it needs . It made a series of sensible if limited recommendations : more mental health treatment for people with a substance abuse disorder and more effective forms of rehab . Trump finally got around to saying that the epidemic is a national emergency on Thursday after he was criticised for ignoring his own commission ’ s recommendation to do so . But he
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reinforced the idea that the victims are to blame with an offhand reference to LSD . Real leadership is still absent – and that won ’ t displease the pharmaceutical companies at all . Chris McGreal , Observer , 13 August
IT IS A TABLE THAT NO CARING , CIVILISED NATION WOULD WISH TO FIND ITSELF TOP OF . But the sad truth is that Scotland has the highest rate of drugs deaths in the European Union … The sad reality is that behind every one of these death statistics is a personal story of a life blighted by addiction , a family bereaved . It is also the story of wasted lives and communities scarred . We simply must find new , more successful ways to help and bring hope to those afflicted ; it will be to our great shame if we do not . Herald opinion , 16 August
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10 | drinkanddrugsnews | September 2017 www . drinkanddrugsnews . com