‘ services ... need to be flexible , ensuring appropriate treatment to those seeking help for the first time .’
Read the full stories , and more , online www . drinkanddrugsnews . com
NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF OPIOID USERS IN TREATMENT , SAYS PHE
‘ services ... need to be flexible , ensuring appropriate treatment to those seeking help for the first time .’
PRofessoR KevIn fenton
SIXTY PER CENT OF ENGLAND ’ S OPIOID USERS ARE NOW IN TREATMENT – one of the highest reported international rates – according to an evidence review by Public Health England ( PHE ) which compares international research literature on treatment effectiveness to the English system . Rates of HIV infection among injecting drug users remain at just 1 per cent , it says , while 97 per cent of drug users are able to start their treatment within three weeks .
The areas where the English system were ‘ not doing so well ’, however , were the record rates of drug-related deaths ( DDN , October , page 4 ) and the number of people who continue to use opiates after beginning treatment . Rates of abstinence from illicit opiates after three and six months of treatment in England stood at 46 and 48 per cent respectively , a ‘ relatively poorer perform - ance ’ internationally , while the drug-related death rate was ‘ substantially lower than in the USA but considerably higher than elsewhere in Europe ’.
The report reiterates the importance of factors such as housing , employment and good social networks in remaining drug-free , along with properly integrated services , and states that increases in drug-related harms are largely among a ‘ small but growing number of vulnerable , older entrenched heroin users ’ who experience poor physical and mental health . ‘ The number of drug misuse deaths has increased over the past 20 years , with a significant rise in the last three years , to the highest number on record ,’ it says . ‘ In the next four years , PHE estimates that there will be an increase in the proportion of people in treatment for opiate dependence who die from long-term health conditions and overdose .’
‘ Local areas increasingly have to meet the complex needs of older long-term heroin users , often in poor health , with other problems – particularly housing , poor social networks and unemployment – which are vital to successful recovery ,’ said PHE ’ s national director of health and wellbeing , Professor Kevin Fenton . ‘ Services will also need to be flexible , ensuring appropriate treatment to those seeking help for the first time , particularly with emerging issues such as new psychoactive substances or the problematic use of medication .’
An evidence review of the outcomes that can be expected of drug misuse treatment in England at www . gov . uk districts , with male incidence in Dublin ‘ statistically significantly higher than the national average ’. The Irish Cancer Society said the figures were ‘ startling ’ and the ‘ result of decades of people in Ireland simply drinking too much .’ Document at www . ncri . ie
‘ all membership services are being transferred to smmGP ...’
CaRol shaRma
FDAP CLOSES
THE FEDERATION OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL PROFESSIONALS ( FDAP ) has made the ‘ difficult decision ’ to close , according to a statement from the organisation ’ s board , with its members ’ interests to be looked after by SMMGP from this month onwards . ‘ To ensure there is no confusion I wish to state clearly that all membership services are being transferred to SMMGP ,’ said outgoing chief executive Carole Sharma . ‘ This includes all types of accreditation and re-accreditation for individuals , service providers and educational institutions . SMMGP will be writing to members soon and we are all working hard to ensure the handover is as smooth as possible .’
|
CONTROL CALL
MORE THAN 1,000 DOCTORS and other healthcare professionals have written an open letter to Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt calling for a new tobacco control plan to be published ‘ without further delay ’. The signatories , which include five former royal college presidents , say the move is essential to tackle health inequalities . Although smoking prevalence in England has halved in the last 35 years – with less than a fifth of adults now smokers – the highest rates of smoking are found in disadvantaged communities . Open letter at www . bmj . com
ADDACTION APPOINTMENT
MIKE DIXON will take over the role of Addaction chief executive from 1 May , the organisation has announced , replacing interim chief executive Guy Pink . He is currently assistant chief executive of
|
Citizens Advice , prior to which he worked as a director at Victim Support and as an advisor in a number of government departments . ‘ Mike has an excellent track record of working at the highest levels of government and the voluntary sector in a wide range of political , strategic and service delivery roles ,’ said Addaction ’ s chair , Lord Alex Carlile . ‘ We are confident he will bring formidable strategic vision and operational energy to Addaction .’ See feature , page 14
GRIM MEASURES
THE NUMBER OF PRIMARY LIVER CANCERS in Ireland increased by more than 300 per cent between 1994 and 2014 , according to figures from the country ’ s National Cancer Registry . ‘ The increase in alcohol consumption observed in Ireland in recent decades is likely to have had a strong influence ,’ says Cancer trends : primary liver cancer , with rates three times higher in men than in women . Men in urban areas were also 64 per cent more likely to develop liver cancer than those in rural
|
CORE CORRUPTION
PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE has announced a temporary suspension of his violent ‘ war on drugs ’ while he addresses the problem of police corruption . He told a press conference that he intends to abolish the Philippine National Police ’ s ( PNP ) antidrugs units and replace them with ‘ an antinarcotics body that will work hand in hand with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency ( PDEA )’. The announcement follows the alleged murder of a Korean businessman on police headquarters .
‘ Suspending police anti-drug operations could reduce the killings , but they won ’ t stop without a meaningful investigation into the 7,000 deaths already reported ,’ said deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch , Phelim Kine . ‘ Unless there is an independent international investigation into these killings , and soon , the already long list of grave rights violations linked to the “ drug war ” will only continue to grow .’
|
|
‘ Independent international investigation ’ vital to address rights violations .
PhelIm KIne
|
www . drinkanddrugsnews . com February 2017 | drinkanddrugsnews | 5