Agenda item

This report seeks to demonstrate the trends in Alcohol and Drug related deaths in Medway, report on current interventions to reduce them and recommend future actions

Discussion:

Members considered a report which sought to demonstrate the trends in Alcohol and Drug related deaths in Medway, report on current interventions to reduce them and recommend future actions.

The following issues were discussed:

·       Nitrous Oxide canisters – in repose to concerns about the abuse of nitrous oxide canisters by young people in Medway, the Director of Public Health commented that he was aware of this and young people were being made aware of the dangers as part general community safety work.  He did not consider this was at present a significant issue in Medway. In response, the point was made that, against a backdrop of a 45% cut in drug recovery services in Medway, empty nitrous oxide canisters were commonplace in parts of Medway and these were a gateway to serious drugs. The Director of Public Health commented that he did not recognise the 45% figure but would check this. The Council had invested more in drug recovery services but it was the outcomes which were key. A comment was made that there was a need for greater education that illegal substances were not the same as alcohol misuse due to the different nature of their source and distribution.

·       Date Rape drugs – in response to a query, the Director of Public Health advised the police had not identified any specific cases linked to the issues first reported in Nottingham, in Medway.

·       Recovery programme – the point was made that the 18% completion rate was not acceptable as this meant 80% of people did not finish the programme. The Director of Public Health commented that 18% was the cumulative figure of people presently in the programme so far this year. The performance of Medway treatment service was currently 4% higher than the average for England.  The final figure for the year was likely to be 50%.  In response to comments that this still showed a lack of ambition, the Director commented that he believed the Strategy was ambitious but dealing with substance abuse was a complex societal issue. 

·       Service providers - concern was expressed about the quality of the service provided by some commissioners. The Director considered providers were delivering in line with current strategy and were performance managed. When services were reprocured this would be with the aim of delivering excellent service in line with the needs of the population, but his needed to be done in a holistic way.

Decision:

The Committee agreed:

a)    to note the progress made at reducing deaths from Drug Misuse in Medway and that successful completion of treatment for drugs and alcohol in Medway were above the England average.

b)    to note that in order to effectively meet the needs of people who use drugs a whole system approach was needed, including early identification of people whose health is affected by substance misuse becomes “everyone’s responsibility” and robust pathways developed into treatment services.

c)    to note that a local response to the 2021 drug strategy would be developed and agreed by all relevant partners across health, social care, criminal justice and community led organisations.

d)    to request a briefing note on the funding of drug treatment services in Medway over the last 10 years.

e)    that the next agenda planning meeting discuss whether there should be a report on the 10 Year Strategy to see the overall picture and outcomes achieved, including the number of people receiving treatment.