addaction

Simon Antrobus is Addaction’s Chief Executive. Here, he responds to new statistics on alcohol-related harm, and how that harm breaks down across regions.

‘With Tony Blair admitting that he used alcohol as a ’support’ while in office, it’s clear that drink problems can affect anyone, irrespective of class, background or achievements.

But there is no getting away from the fact that such problems are made worse by social deprivation. The people we work with tell us similar stories, over and over. They have grown up in the UK’s poorest areas, where generations of unemployment and a lack of social mobility are, sadly, all too commonplace. The tragic result of all of this is that people’s life expectancy is being cut short - something we, as a country, need to put right.

There’s a key obstacle in the way, however: a lack of money. There are a lot of great treatment centres across the country, but not nearly enough, and waiting lists for treatment can extend for months. The help Addaction can offer dependent drinkers and their families has proved to be effective, but we - and charities like ours - need the funding to do so much more’.

The Home Office are considering plans to withdraw benefits for people who are dependent on drugs or alcohol, but who refuse treatment. (BBC News)

Addaction’s Chief Executive, Simon Antrobus commented on these proposals. He said:

“Getting more people into treatment is always a good thing, but attempting to force them into that process by taking away their benefits would be a mistake.

The people Addaction help will tell you how coming off drugs or alcohol is extremely difficult, and how deciding to access treatment took them a very long time. Remove financial stability during that time, and you can severely damage someone’s chances of beating an addiction. More likely, you could increase their chances of turning to crime to find an alternative income”.

There are now just a few days left to register for the Royal Parks Half Marathon. Addaction places are almost full so don’t miss your chance to be a part of this unique event which makes its way through four of London’s magnificent Royal Parks whilst raising vital funds to support our work.

Found out how you can take part in this year’s race here.

Addaction’s response to the Home Secretary’s speech on alcohol and related crimes (you can also read a press release on this issue, available here).

Addaction, one of the UK’s leading drug and alcohol treatment charities, says that changing the licensing laws is only going some way in addressing Britain’s binge drinking culture.

The charity believes that there are two key underlying issues to the country’s drink problems that need addressing: a lack of funding for treatment and the sale of heavily discounted alcohol.

The comments come on the back of the Home Secretary’s speech on anti-social behaviour, given in London today

Simon Antrobus, Addaction’s Chief Executive, says: “Before people hit the bars and pubs they often ‘preload’ with cheap alcohol bought from supermarkets; available throughout the day. This alcohol is almost always available to them at rock bottom prices.

“A change to way alcohol is priced will certainly have an affect on the amount our country is drinking. All of us - even responsible drinkers - are paying a premium for this level of consumption. Public services, such as the police or accident and emergency departments, are continually under pressure from alcohol related problems. And this costs us dear.”

Antrobus expands on the pricing issue: “Minimum pricing only benefits the suppliers. Make the extra revenue raised as a result of the tax an alcohol treatment levy. This revenue could then be fed back into the much needed treatment of alcohol dependency.”

The treatment for alcohol in the UK lags behind that which is currently available for drug misuse, despite the fact that the cost of alcohol abuse to society is in the region of £17 – 24 billion per annum. Also, a recent study identified a 24 per cent  increase in the number of dependent drinkers between 2000 and 2007. The charity believes that this should be a priority area for the government:

Antrobus says:”There are a good number of treatment centres across the country, but not nearly enough. Waiting lists for treatment can extend for months. The range of interventions that Addaction offer dependent drinkers and their families have proved to be effective, but we need the funding to do so much more.”

As well as changing the pricing policy, the charity believes that our bars and restaurants need to encourage more responsible drinking and see the end of ‘all you can drink for a tenner’ binge drinking culture.

Simon Antrobus, chief executive of Addaction, says:

So David Cameron launched his ‘big society’ in Liverpool yesterday. On the same day and just a stone’s throw away, I am in Croxteth at an Addaction community drugs project. This is a shining example that the big society concept is alive and well, and nothing new.

Jo and Sandra, managers of Addaction’s drug and alcohol support services, have managed to create something very special - a partnership between professionals, the community and volunteers. The partnership is 100% focused on supporting people to not only get free of their addiction, but to also play a part in helping others.

And although I was in Croxteth yesterday, I see it up and down the country in all our services.

But let’s make one thing clear: the big society in communities across the UK has never been, and nor should it be seen as, a replacement for the state. If engaged and if supported properly, it has the potential to transform the delivery of community services, people and the communities in which they live, but it has to be a partnership.

In Croxteth, Jo and Sandra know this already.

They use every opportunity to engage others, to widen their offer to the local community, and there is no shortage of support.

Let’s not be embarrassed too about money. In tough financial times we need to spend wisely and projects like Addaction Croxteth do just that. A stronger and more engaged community is likely to be a healthier one.

We have known for a long time now that there is immense flexibility, imagination and commitment to the voluntary sector. This ensures an effective response to community needs but it also drives costs down. But let’s be clear, it’s not free!

We might be hearing stories about community leaders in leafy villages running their own pub or post office; these are empowered individuals and groups. In more marginalised communities dealing with the immense challenges of alcohol and drug addiction, we need to ensure that excellent people like Jo and Sandra have the resources to continue to grow the ‘big society’ David Cameron has challenged us to provide.

The UK drugs and alcohol treatment charity, Addaction, welcomes the National Treatment Agency’s (NTA) proposals to impose methadone prescription limits.

The charity supports the use of methadone and other substitute medications as part of a long-term treatment programme to cure opiate addictions. It recognises that there are health benefits of prescribing substitutes, as it offers the drug user stability and helps them to detoxify effectively. The intervention can also help to reduce criminal activity as many users turn to crime to fund their drug habits.

However it doesn’t believe that people should be prescribed methadone indefinitely.

Addaction’s chief executive, Simon Antrobus, said: “While we support the use of substitute medications, we believe they should only be used on a time-limited basis to reduce harm to the drug user. Addaction believes that full recovery from addictions should always be at the heart of all drugs treatment programmes. This means that all the people that we help should be free of all substances including legal substitutes at the end of their treatment.”

A few years ago, a teenager called ‘Andy’ told us how he’d visited his GP to discuss his drug problem. The GP listened for a while and then prescribed him anti-depressants. Andy said thanks, left the surgery and on his way home, threw the tablets in the bin. ‘I wasn’t depressed’, he said, ‘so I didn’t need them’. When we asked him if he’d challenged his GP about the prescription, or discussed other ways he could get help, Andy said no.

This passive attitude towards help is all too common, If they don’t feel engaged, young people can – and often will - drop out. What’s more, statistics show they’ll often return to treatment within twelve months (due to relapsing in their drug or alcohol use) before dropping out again and repeating this cycle of events over and over.
And when this happens, the costs to society can build and build. Many of our young clients have a history of truancy, for example, and estimates have put truancy as costing the UK over £800m a year. Many teens with drug or drink problems have committed crime in the past, too – and the Prince’s Trust estimates that each year, the cost of youth crime costs Great Britain in excess of £1billion.

One of the most frustrating things about all of this is that young people do want to be involved in the treatment they are receiving. In our previous work with teenagers, we saw that they know what works for them, and they know what doesn’t. The problem was they were simply unaware they could assert themselves, challenge decisions and make positive suggestions.

Listening to the young people in our services inspired us to develop Addaction Aspire: two separate projects with shared aspirations and outcomes. Aspire Cornwall started in May 2010, with funding from Big Lottery Fund. Its aims are simple and effective. In an informal and creative way, young people accessing our treatment services are given the skills and experience to interact with professionals, services and adults. They’ll do this in group settings; in workshops and role-plays which build up their confidence, and focus their attention. From here, clients will go on to receive Assessment and Qualification Alliance (AQA) and Award Scheme and Development and Accreditation Network (ASDAN) accreditation for their coursework evidencing the skills they have learnt - a landmark achievement for many.

In June 2010, we also launched Aspire North Lancashire with funding from the mygames programme run by the youth volunteering organisation v, which uses the inspiration of the Olympic Games to encourage young people to share their time and talents. Young people will be encouraged to apply and build on the skills they gain in the group work settings by volunteering their time to develop community projects that have a positive local impact. This could be anything from public artworks and delivering drug and alcohol education sessions in schools to transforming wastelands into community areas - giving the young people involved a sense of achievement and local pride. Young people will also go on to receive AQA and ASDAN accreditation for their coursework evidencing the skills they have learned through the programme.

If you’d like to find out more about Aspire, you can email Gabrielle Chalk on g.chalk@addaction.org.uk

On Sunday 10th October 2010 the third annual Royal Parks Half Marathon will take place through four of London’s magnificent Royal Parks, taking in superb views of Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Marble Arch and the Royal Albert Hall.

Found out how you can take part in this year’s race here.

Simon Antrobus, Chief Executive of Addaction writes:

The government’s new white paper on ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’ states that, to create a world beating health service, we have to involve ‘patients fully in their own care, with decisions made in partnership with clinicians, rather than by clinicians alone’.

Too true.

Over the years, Addaction has improved its services by listening to the people who use those services. It’s an approach that’s led us to where we are today; continually improving and providing excellent, effective support that adapts to our service users’ situations. Our service users have told us about the challenges they have had with family life, education, employment and a whole range of other issues - and so we provide help and support in these areas alongside the treatment for drug and alcohol problems.

They have told us about how important it is for them that the same staff-member supports them throughout their recovery, and that they don’t get moved on from project worker to project worker as their circumstances change, or as other issues appear. So, we ensure this happens too. The result is that our clients feel engaged in their treatment; encouraged, motivated and important. And this means their journey to recovery from drug and alcohol problems is a more certain one.

So, this new patient-centred approach for the NHS is something we fully welcome. It is working for us, and - if applied properly - the NHS could reap real dividends from it. It provides an opportunity for health care in this country to be adaptable, effective and to meet all of a patient’s needs, rather than just some of them. We will be working to ensure that people with drug and alcohol problems are at the front of this new patient-led and GP-commissioned agenda..

Website redesign

We are currently redeveloping our website to make it more modern, accessible, informative and easy to use.

As a consequence, there is some information on the current site which won’t be updated until the new site is launched in the next few months. This won’t, however, include contact details for our services.

In the meantime, please bear with us while we make these important changes.