relationships with the voluntary
sector have stated how critical
these relationships have been when
mobilising the local response.
The sector has proven
itself entirely capable
of meeting the
immediate challenges
of COVID-19, but
what comes next?
Because as we look to how services
will operate in the ‘new normal’,
there are a number of issues that
are already causing concern.
1. INCREASED ALCOHOL
CONSUMPTION
The effects of social isolation
during the COVID-19 lockdown
appear to be having a noticeable
effect on the country’s alcohol
consumption. Recent research
from Alcohol Change UK, while
highlighting some positive
indications of a segment of the
population who are actually
drinking less during lockdown,
nonetheless showed that around
one in five drinkers are drinking
more frequently (DDN, May, page
5). The longer-terms effect of
such a substantial portion of the
population negatively changing
their relationship with alcohol
could create a potential new
cohort of people seeking treatment
as they begin to recognise their
consumption has changed for the
worse. If there is an increase how
will it be paid for? None of us have
a crystal ball but it seems fair to
say there may well be questions
over the level of public spending
the country can afford and we
know that people with drug or
alcohol problems are a frequently
discriminated-against group.
2. ROUGH SLEEPING
EXIT STRATEGY
The move to swiftly house people
in hotels and other temporary
accommodation during the
COVID-19 emergency has, in
many ways, been a success
story. It has taken enormous
energy across different systems
from local authority workers to
homelessness, mental health and
drug and alcohol workers, but as
the COVID-19 emergency enters its
second phase, the contracts with
hotels to accommodate people
previously sleeping rough will end.
This leaves our sector, and the
many other connected parts of the
system, with a significant challenge
to continue providing support. But
it is also an important (possibly
never-before-seen) opportunity for
services to create pathways into
long-term meaningful support
for people who have historically
sometimes been difficult to
engage (see news, page 4). Ensuring
continued accommodation
obviously needs to be at the heart
of the planning for this group, but
it will be a wasted effort for many
people if the building blocks of
wider support are not also put in
place – especially access to drug
and alcohol treatment.
3. LOCAL GOVERNMENT
FUNDING
We welcome the £3.2bn
commitment by the Ministry
of Housing, Communities and
Local Government to support
people in the most vulnerable
of circumstances during this
unprecedented crisis. Local
authorities have already distributed
some of this funding to fortify
services that support people
experiencing multiple disadvantage,
particularly around rough sleeping,
and it is testament to the strength
of collaboration between local
government and treatment
providers that our service users have
been kept as safe as possible. But
since the funding lacks protection,
we are concerned that some public
health services – including drug and
alcohol treatment – will not benefit
from its distribution. This funding
is needed by a sector that has
been forced to take on unexpected
emergency costs around PPE
procurement, and payment of
locum and bank staff to cover staff
sickness.
4. UNFORESEEN
CONSEQUENCES OF SERVICE
ADAPTATION
Services have mobilised quickly
and effectively to adapt, while both
managing risk and maintaining
effective support. But there will soon
be a need for the sector to properly
assess the consequences of these
changes and their effects on service
users’ treatment and recovery. The
remote (and particularly digital)
delivery of assessment, key working
and more structured interventions
has undoubtedly made services
more accessible for some people,
and the forced changes to OST
provision are likely to provide
benefits going forward. But there
will still be people in desperate
need of treatment for whom online
services will not be appropriate,
and it is vital that these changes
are seen as a welcome addition to
the range of available services, not
as a replacement. At a time when
investment in drug and alcohol
services may become challenging,
and where digital services could be
seen to be a cost-saving exercise,
the sector must be vigilant as to
the effects of service adaptation
and ensure an appropriate balance
is found.
Peter Keeling is campaigns officer
at Collective Voice
Finally... We want to pay tribute to the thousands of workers across the country
providing essential treatment and support to people with drug and alcohol problems.
COVID-19 has shone a light on the extreme vulnerability of many of our citizens, from
rough sleeping to domestic violence, and we will continue to push for our sector, and its
many unsung heroes, to receive the same level of recognition. But we can only do this with
your help and expertise, which is why we’ve launched some new ways to communicate
with the field, including a weekly bulletin and an open source Slack community (all details
at www.collectivevoice.org.uk). We want to hear from you about how we can best
support the sector, so please do get in touch: [email protected]
WWW.DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS.COM JUNE 2020 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 15