Plans for Nottinghamshire to offer 'world-class treatment and recovery service' for drug addicts and alcoholics

Nottinghamshire Council has been awarded £4.6 million over the next two years to combat drug and alcohol misuse – it is among £32m awarded by the Government across the East Midlands to improve drug and alcohol addiction treatment and recovery.

The funding – part of the Government’s From Harm to Hope drug strategy – aims to allow councils to recruit more staff to work with people with drug and alcohol problems, support more prison leavers into treatment and recovery services, and invest in enhancing the quality of treatment they provide.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “More people will benefit from residential rehabilitation or inpatient detoxification, while improvements to the recovery services will sustain them outside of treatment, helping reduce relapse rates.

“For example, Nottinghamshire identified more than 170 young adults, aged 18-24, living in hostel and move on accommodation who are not accessing structured drug and alcohol treatment and have recruited an outreach post to support them into accessing treatment and recovery. They have also continued to invest in a long-acting medicine, Buvidal, that treats opiate addiction , with the intention of increasing uptake from 9 people to 40 in this year.

The strategy, published in December 2021, sets out an ambition to increase the capacity of treatment and recovery services – it is estimated that over the first three years of the strategy, the additional investment in treatment and recovery will prevent nearly 1,000 drug-related deaths.

Announcing the cash, health minister Neil O’Brien said: “Addictions drive about half of all theft, burglary and robbery, so boosting treatment for addicts will help cut crime.

“This funding will help improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol recovery services right across the country, helping more people access the support they need, saving lives and benefitting communities.”

Coun Scott Carlton, Nottinghamshire Council deputy cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said From Harm to Hope aims to combat illegal drugs by cutting off the supply of drugs and giving people with a drug addiction a route to a productive and drug-free life.

The three strategic priorities of the strategy are: Break drug supply chains; Deliver a world-class treatment and recovery system; and Achieve a generational shift in demand for drugs.

Coun Carlton, member for Sherwood Forest, said: “A multi-agency partnership, of which I am chairman, is working to deliver the strategy in Nottinghamshire.

“It provides a joined-up forum to understand and address challenges related to substance misuse-related harm. The partners work to address the causes, treatment and recovery needs and consequences of substance misuse for the population of Nottinghamshire.

“The partnership also is required to implement the Nottinghamshire From Harm to Hope strategy which includes a local fourth priority, the Bigger Picture: Reducing Health Inequalities and Tackling Wider Determinants. This recognises the wider reasons for people using drugs and alcohol. It also places an equal focus on alcohol as well as drugs, recognising the greater level of alcohol abuse in the county.”

He said the Nottinghamshire funding “will mainly centre around increasing the workforce required to deliver a world-class treatment and recovery service”.