Agenda item

Report of the Interim Director of Public Health

The Interim Director of Public Health submitted a report (previously circulated) to provide an update to Members of the Adult Scrutiny Committee on the current performance, provision and composition of STRIDE specialist substance misuse treatment and recovery services delivered within Darlington.

The submitted report stated that following the publication of the National Drugs Strategy, ‘From Harm to Hope’, in December 2021, the Government published guidance for local delivery partners in May 2022, which outlined the recommended steps that local areas should take to help deliver the three main priorities of the Strategy: breaking drug supply chains; delivering a world-class treatment and recovery system and achieving a generational shift in the demand for drugs. It was reported that to support the improvements described in the National Drug Strategy, three years of additional ring-fenced funding for treatment and recovery had been allocated to local areas as the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant (SSMTRG) from 2022 until 2025.

Members were notified that this increased funding had enabled a step change in increasing both clinical and non-clinical treatment capacity, and had also supported the provision of a comprehensive recovery offer and greater capacity for both drugs and alcohol detoxification, planned for 2024.

It was reported that whilst progress on numbers in treatment had been slower than expected, primarily due to recruitment, training and the retention of an expanded workforce, performance in Darlington has improved from the baseline and was consistent with progress both regionally and nationally.

Discussion ensued on the period of time that services were commissioned for; the historic lack of rehabilitation provision within the community and acknowledgement of the programmes currently delivered; the potential for dual referrals and diagnosis within mental health services; the training required in care homes to support staff in assisting residents with addictions; the balance between engaging people in services with the right to decide not to access services; and the services available to those with a gambling addiction. 

RESOLVED – That the contents of this report and the progress made in the planning and delivery of substance misuse treatment and recovery services in Darlington be noted.