NEWS ROUND-UP
Sector fights to stay on top
of coronavirus outbreak
North Yorkshire: Public support
for key workers. Credit: Matt
Pennington/PennPix/Alamy
T
he treatment sector is
battling to deal with the
unprecedented impact of
the COVID-19 outbreak
and protect its vulnerable
service users. While drug and alcohol
treatment staff are included in
the government’s definition of key
workers whose children are entitled
to school-based childcare, the
outbreak’s impact on services has
been immense and professionals
are extremely concerned about their
already vulnerable client groups.
A letter to the Times from
more than 20 academics and
organisations including Humankind,
Transform and Release called
on the government to recognise
that it cannot successfully tackle
the outbreak without increasing
support for people dependent on
drugs. Failure to do so would mean
a ‘disproportionate increase in both
coronavirus infections and other
health problems, creating yet more
pressure on the NHS,’ it says, with
increased funding for treatment,
OST, naloxone and sterile needles
urgently needed. ‘People at risk of
arrest should instead be diverted
towards services,’ it adds, while
those incarcerated for non-violent
offences should be considered for
early release, ‘not least because the
virus is taking hold in prisons’.
Peer-led organisations staffed by
volunteers and ex-service users have
Faster access to cannabis-
based medicines
IMPORT RESTRICTIONS on cannabis-based products for
medicinal use have been revised to ensure that people
with conditions such as multiple sclerosis or serious
forms of epilepsy have faster access, the government has
announced. While the law was changed in 2018 to allow
specialist doctors to prescribe cannabis-based products
for certain conditions (DDN, November 2018, page 5),
delays in people accessing the medicines have been
widely reported.
The new rules mean that licensed wholesalers can
import much larger quantities and hold supplies for
future use. The government will also ‘continue to engage
with medical associations and patients’ to build an
evidence base, it says. Last year NICE ruled that more
research was needed into cannabis-based medicines
before they could be widely prescribed (DDN, September
2019, page 5).
4 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • APRIL 2020
been forced to close to safeguard
people’s health (see feature, page 6),
and the Care Quality Commission
(CQC) has suspended its inspections.
Public Health England (PHE),
meanwhile, has stated that it is
working with the Department of
Health and Social Care (DHSC) to
mitigate the impact of community
pharmacy changes and closures,
which is having a significant effect
on the availability of supervised
consumption for OST.
Homeless people and rough
sleepers have been particularly hard
hit as they are unable to self isolate
or regularly wash their hands, with
homelessness charities issuing
urgent calls for guidance in the early
stages of the outbreak. While the
government’s instruction to local
authorities to find accommodation
for all rough sleepers by 29 March
seems to have been mostly
successful, it was still unclear during
the following week how many
people were yet to be housed.
For the latest coronavirus advice
and updates visit drinkanddrugsnews.
com/coronavirus-advice
New directions
TWO NEW SERVICES in Staffordshire and the North
East have been launched by Humankind, which joins
forces with Devon-based charity EDP from this month
(DDN, February, page 5). Staffordshire Treatment and
Recovery Service (STARS) has been commissioned for
five years and will include harm reduction, clinical
interventions, aftercare and more, while Reconnected
to Health will provide recovery support in seven
prisons across the North East.
‘We are very pleased to be able to support
thousands more people across the length and breadth
of England from today,’ said Humankind chief executive
Paul Townsley. ‘Although these may be difficult times
to begin new services, we are committed to extending
our support and welcoming new staff and service
users.’ Humankind and EDP had worked collaboratively
for several years and ‘recognised that we could have a
greater impact for service users by bringing together
our learning, development and resources’, he added.
Betway
hit with
record fine
ONLINE GAMBLING company
Betway will have to pay £11.6m for
failings relating to a number of high-
spending customers as well as its
money-laundering responsibilities,
the Gambling Commission has
announced. An investigation
found ‘a lack of consideration of
individual customer affordability
and source of funds checks’, with
Companies’
management of
their ‘high value’
customers needs to
change.
Richard Watson
one ‘VIP’ customer losing more than
£4m over four years and another
almost £200,000 in two days. A
third customer was allowed to lose
more than £700,000 in three years,
despite being unemployed. The
investigation also found that almost
£5m was allowed to flow through
the business that was ‘found, or
could reasonably be suspected to
be’, proceeds of crime.
Gambling companies’
management of their ‘high value’
customers needed to change,
said Gambling Commission chief
executive director Richard Watson.
‘The actions of Betway suggest
there was little regard for the
welfare of its VIP customers or the
impact on those around them.’
Betway Ltd public statement at
www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk
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