Our ref:
BMCN/kh/FOI 375
8th February 2021
By Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Mr Jones
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 – INFORMATION REQUEST
Your request for information regarding substance misuse treatment has now been
considered and the information requested is enclosed.
If you are unhappy as to how this request has been handled, you should write to the
FOI lead for the Trust. You have the right to seek a review within the Trust in the first
instance.
If, after receiving a response, you remain unhappy, you can refer your complaint to the
Information Commissioner at The Information Commissioner’s office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF. It is important to note that if you refer any matter to
the Information Commissioner, you will need to show evidence of having gone through
the Trust’s review procedure to try to resolve the matter with the Trust in the first
instance.
If you have any queries or concerns then please contact:
Head of Information Governance
Southern Health & Social Care Trust
Ferndale
Bannvale Site
10 Moyallen Road
Gilford
BT63 5JX
Tel: 028 37561458
Email:
xxx.xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxx.xxx
Information Governance Department, Ferndale, Gilford
Yours sincerely
__________________________
BARNEY MCNEANY
DIRECTOR OF MENTAL HEALTH & DISABILITY
Enc
This request relates to the provision of female specific, free to use substance misuse
treatment within Southern Health and Social Care Trust's local authority area. Please
see the below definitions to help inform Southern Health and Social Care Trust's
response:
- A free to use substance misuse service is a service that provides free treatment,
support and/or advice to people affected by substance misuse.
- A female specific, free to use substance misuse service only provides treatment,
support and/or advice to people who are female.
- A female specific space/programme within a broader free to use substance misuse
service is an intervention/pathway that only people who are female can access. For
example - a women only support group.
With the above in mind, please can Southern Health and Social Care Trust respond to
the following questions in keeping with freedom of information legislation:
1. What free to use substance misuse services are available to people (both
men and women) in Southern Health and Social Care Trust's local authority
area? Please list all the services.
The SHSCT Community Addictions Service supports individuals, men and women,
aged 18 and over who are experiencing issues with harmful misuse of substances or
substance dependency, and with an expressed desire to moderate or cease their
substance intake. Referral is via General Practitioner and is free of cost.
Within the Northern Ireland Alcohol and Drug Services Tiered approach to service
provision the SHSCT Community Addictions Service delivers a Tier 3 service. It
provides community-based specialised alcohol and drug comprehensive assessment
and co-ordinated care planned treatment.
The SHSCT Community Addictions Services provides psychological and medical based
interventions through several programmes including:
• Community Addiction Team Keyworker Support – individual one-to-one and
group interventions
• Opiate Substitution Service – for service users who had an opioid addiction
• Dual Diagnosis Service – for service users who have dual diagnosis
problems both substance misuse and mental health issues
• Child and Family Liaison Intervention Service - for service users who are
parents and require additional support from the Child and Family Liaison
Service due to the impact of their substance use on their children
• Family Support – support for families/carers of service users with substance
misuse issues
• Peer Support - offered by a practitioner who has life experience of
addiction, to support service users alongside their keyworker
Information Governance Department, Ferndale, Gilford
• Support Group – fortnightly support group for service users
• FEAR Group – ‘Face Everything And Recover’, an educational 10 week
group programme that works with service users on specific weekly topics.
This is delivered in locality areas to enable easy access for service users.
Within the Southern Health and Social Care Trust's local authority area Tier 2 services
provide alcohol and/or drug-related information and advice, triage assessment, referral
to structured alcohol and/or drug treatment, brief psychosocial interventions, harm
reduction interventions (including needle exchange) and aftercare. These services are
delivered by open access facilities and outreach teams and voluntary sector supports.
2. Are any of the services listed in question 1 female specific?
The Community Addiction Service does not offer a female specific service. Service
users engaged with the Child and Family Liaison Intervention Service are predominantly
female. However, it is not exclusive to females, as males who are fathers can also be
referred to and be provided with support from this service.
3. Do any of the services listed in question 1 provide female specific
spaces/programmes within a broader service? If yes please provide details
of the female specific spaces/programmes offered.
The Child and Family Liaison Intervention Service offers a seven-week ‘MOMS’ Group
Programme. This is aimed at supporting mothers, and expectant mothers, who misuse
substances to have increased insight on the Hidden Harm - the harm caused to children
behind closed doors in the family unit, and impact of their substance use on self and
children. This group meets in a local setting to allow for easy access to the group.
Mothers are referred into the group by their Community Addiction Team Keyworker.
The Child and Family Liaison Service work closely with parents to ensure they are safe
and their children are safe in the family home. It works with families to provide
education and advice regarding substance misuse and the impact on the children and
close relationships. It supports parents to ensure they have a healthy lifestyle and
healthy relationships with their children and families. The families are usually already
known to family and child care social service teams. The role of the practitioner within
this service is to advocate on the parent’s behalf. They will also work to ensure that the
voice of the parent is heard right from the outset of the assessment process and
throughout. They work with the parent to address their substance misuse, while
supporting them to make significant changes to their lifestyle, to keep their children
safe, and to keep themselves safe.
