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Home Posts tagged "recovery"

Drug Treatment 2.0

Published on 20 March 2012 by in Digital Engagement, Offender/Drug user health

This post is a celebration of  the increasing range and variety of online resources developed by the drug treatment world. It’s great to report that all sectors of the field are bringing their tradition of creativity to the world of web 2.0 Harm reductionists have eagerly embraced the opportunities to engage with drug users which the World Wide Web and social media bring. These are just a few of the many high quality harm reductions resources now available online: Regular readers will be well aware of the new smartphone app developed by @UTurnTraining to help prevent opiate overdoses. The app is being widely used and the iPhone and iPad versions are in beta testing as we speak. @GlobalDrugSurvy have harnessed the power of the net to undertake a worldwide survey of recreational drug use. The survey gives individuals feedback about

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Why the Drugs Intervention Programme is no longer fit for purpose

Published on 23 February 2012 by in Offender/Drug user health

The Drugs Intervention Programme (DIP) which seeks to engage drug using offenders into treatment at every point of the criminal justice system is due for a shakeup this April – and about time too. The DIP was introduced in 2003 with the purpose of identifying drug users in police stations in courts and prisons, get them into drug treatment and provide them with a case management service through the arrest-charge-court-prison-release process. The DIP was heavily resourced to the tune of approximately £150million per year and had a very positive impact in two main ways: It succeeded in identifying large numbers of drug using offenders who had never been in contact with treatment services. It stimulated a substantial expansion in quick access services – typically those prescribing methadone as a heroin substitute. Commissioners quickly realised that they would lose the opportunity to

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PbR – a healthy proposition?

Published on 6 October 2011 by in Payment by Results

Last week I posted apoll to try to gauge attitudes to payment by results by those sufficiently interested in the subject to read this Blog. For reasons that I go into in a comment on that post, the poll bombed. Most people either weren’t interested or were very wary about voicing an opinion, even in an anonymised format. I offered five possible answers to the poll question ‘What do you think of PbR?’: A great opportunity for my organisation and to make a real difference. I’m wary, I think it is mainly to do with privatisation by the back door. I like the focus on outcomes but I’m not convinced it will work in practice I worry about the impact on 3rd sector organisations. I’m undecided – let’s see what happens in the pilots. As you can see, at least three

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Why the drug treatment sector must get on board with PbR

Published on 14 October 2011 by in Payment by Results

‘Payment by results’ is an approach to funding public services which mirrors how we pay for a meal in a restaurant. We typically give a healthy tip if we like the food and service, but demand they take the cost off the bill if it’s not what we ordered, or the food is cold or defective in some other way. Organisations providing services under PbR will make a healthy premium if they reduce offending or drug use by more than the norm, but won’t get paid in full if they fail to reach their agreed outcomes. From a Government point of view, it’s hard to see the downside of PbR – it transfers risk, draws in private investment and ensures that public funding programmes actually achieve their objectives (or the money stays in the Treasury). I’m reliably informed that the

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Mind the (social aspiration) gap

Published on 15 October 2011 by in Offender/Drug user health

One of the most fulfilling side-effects of writing a Blog is that you are more aware of and tend to read more blogs yourself. I recently discovered a new blog which has quickly become one of my favourites. Matthew Taylor, the Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts,  somehow finds time to write new posts 3-4 times a week. The reason I value these posts is that they are always thought-provoking and challenge readers to engage with core issues about society, politics or even what it means to be human. His latest blog encourages the Government and politicians generally to construct a broader, more meaningful future for the country. He calls for a national strategy which would articulate what sort of country we want to be and gives examples of other national identities. For example: Sweden – world class public

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Drug treatment, PbR and service user choice – it’s simple

Published on 21 September 2011 by in Offender/Drug user health, Payment by Results

There are a lot of criticisms that can be levied at the payment by results approach. Some commentators are opposed in principle, Laurence Demarco, the founder and director of Senscot (a network of Scottish social enterprises) was the latest to voice his concerns yesterday. Others are concerned about practical issues, many of them discussed in posts on this site – how do you agree bullet-proof outcomes, develop innovative approaches, and share out payments between multiple providers? However, there are definite strengths to the approach as well. What I like about PbR is that it challenges all of us who say “We know how to tackle social problems, just give us the resources”, to prove our case. Take, for example, the latest paper from the Recovery Partnership (an alliance between Recovery Group UK, the Substance Misuse Skills Consortium and DrugScope) which was discussed at

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Multiple outcomes: Any day you can get two for one is a good day…

Published on 25 August 2011 by in Payment by Results

In my late 20s I spent 18 months working in a residential project for young people about to leave care in Pittsburgh. It was a life changing experience for me, mainly because of my inspirational manager by the name of Irwin Banks. In addition to being a very gifted and committed specialist at working with troubled young people, he also had a flair for communication with a phrase or saying for every situation. One of his favourites was: ‘Any day you can get two for one is a good day’. Irwin didn’t use this phrase in a Tesco Clubcard context but in the course of his work. For example, I witnessed him on several occasions deal with violence in a way that resolved the conflict while at the same time enabling the perpetrator to learn a new way of managing their

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© Russell Webster 2011/12