Addiction Dependency Solutions

The Official ADS Blog. Helping people recover from substance misuse since 1973.

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The many forms of addiction

Drug addiction; our first thoughts when hearing these two words often conjure stereotypical images of heroin use, portrayed in films like Trainspotting.  Yet, in reality, drug addiction can relate to many substances and varying situations. 

Heroin addiction is a very real problem and one that has not disappeared, however, those seeking treatment for opiate addiction has actually fallen in recent years. The NTA (National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse) released a report in 2013 which looked at the positive impact addiction treatment was having on drug users. This report states that in 2005-06 the number of estimated opiate users (heroin and crack cocaine) in the UK was 332,090, whereas by 2010-11 this had dropped to 298,752. This trend extends to young opiate users – with the number of heroin and crack cocaine users under 25 plummeting from 66,161 in 2005-06 to 41,508 in 2010-11. 

Conversely, we are seeing more people taking non-opiate substances (MDMA, Amphetamines, Cannabis, Ketamine);  6.6% of adults aged 16-59 used Cannabis last year, and the use of drugs like MDMA, often referred to as party drugs, have not decreased.  We are also seeing the increasing use of ‘legal highs’; drugs that are legally sold in the UK, but are typically only one compound different to illegal drugs, this is a growing market, with 2.3% of adults and 7.6% of young adults aged 16-24 taking Nitrous Oxide in the past year.

Whereas drug use was often limited to heroin, cocaine and ecstasy, we are now seeing more use of ‘party drugs’ and legal highs. Many people begin taking these drugs at irregular intervals, for example at weekends and in social situations, however, although these non-opiate drugs may not have the same physical dependency symptoms as heroin, they can eventually lead to a controlling psychological reliance which can become a dependency equally as controlling as heroin addiction.  Addiction to non-opiate drugs can take over people lives, clouding their judgement, affecting their relationships and work commitments and, in some cases, result in turning to crime.  From what can start from the most inconspicuous of starts is sure to have negative impacts on lives.

The controlling effect of non-opiate drug use is currently being explored within a storyline in the TV show, Coronation Street. The character, Kylie Platt, is a young mother who becomes addicted to speed amphetamine and struggles with the impact the drug has on her life. This storyline explores the reality of addiction; from what was an initial one-off, to an addiction that spirals out of control into dependence. ADS have been liaising with Coronation Street on this storyline to ensure that stories like Kylie’s portray the debilitating effects of drug dependence and hopefully encourage those that have been suffering from similar issues to get in contact with services like ADS.

Our Manchester service, ADS RISE, has increasingly seen cases similar to Coronations Street’s Kylie.  As a busy service in the heart of the city, those seeking help with their drug use, which is not restricted to opiate use, is becoming more frequent.  Manchester is one of the biggest night time economies in the country, hence, the use of ‘party drugs’ is all too common.  Individuals are increasingly presenting to the service seeking help with their substance misuse in relation to drugs such as Ketamine and Amphetamines.  Our Recovery workers design personal care plans in tandem with individuals so as to tailor treatment to their specific needs and goals.  With our help individuals can move forward in their lives and recover from substance misuse.

Storylines like Kylie’s in Coronation Street highlight the differing nature of drug addiction – ADS is committed to providing personal and non-judgemental treatment and encourages people to get in contact with us no matter of their background or substance use.

Sources:

http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/prevalence-commentary.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-misuse-findings-from-the-2013-to-2014-csew/drug-misuse-findings-from-the-201314-crime-survey-for-england-and-wales#contents

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World AIDS Day & HIV Awareness Week

In light of World AIDS day and last week’s AIDS Awareness Week, our latest blog post highlights AIDS/HIV and its links to our sector. 

HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. It is estimated that around 100,000 people in the UK are living with HIV, 25% of which are unaware they even have the disease.    There have been huge medical advances in the last 20 years, whereby those suffering from HIV can now receive medication that controls the virus and can expect to live to the normal life expectancy, however, educating the public about how they can contact HIV is still priority; early diagnosis is essential to curbing the spread of the virus and making sure people receive appropriate treatment.

HIV is most commonly passed on through unprotected sexual intercourse, and the shared use of drug injecting equipment. The ONE campaign, an advocacy group working to end poverty and preventable disease in Africa, claims that HIV is increasingly concentrated among hard-to-reach populations such as injecting drug users, gay men and sex workers - who are often stigmatised and have trouble accessing treatment and prevention services.  

ADS, as a charity and service provider, see firsthand the dangers of the transmission of HIV through shared drug injecting equipment.  As part of our service provision, we provide needle exchanges in our Manchester RISE, One Recovery Bury and One Recovery Staffordshire services, and will continue to provide needle exchanges as part of any future One Recovery integrated services where applicable. Needle exchanges are one of the main harm reduction schemes.  They attempt to reduce the spread of infection by offering drug users the access to sterile syringes and HIV testing, as well as testing for other blood borne diseases.  Needle exchanges were introduced in the 1980’s to combat the rise of HIV infections and have proven to be successful in combating the spread of HIV, and offering brief interventions that encourage drug users to interact with services. The World Health Organization (WHO) released a report in 2004 that reviewed the effectiveness of needle exchange programmes in many countries, including whether they promoted or prolonged illicit drug use. The results produced convincing evidence that needle exchange programmes significantly reduce HIV infection, and no evidence that they encourage drug use.

Horizon, Blackpool’s integrated substance misuse treatment service, of which ADS is a main partner, organised an informative event to mark last week’s HIV awareness week, where treatment and diagnosis was discussed. Although resources have drastically improved, there is still an issue of late diagnosis and lack of support offered, particularly in areas where there is a low prevalence of HIV. However, new innovations are in place; 60 second HIV testing kits are available in most areas now and you can also order a self sample kit online. Furthermore, health services are working with GP surgeries to educate doctors about HIV, and encourage increased testing so as to improve early diagnosis.  In the Blackpool area there has also been the compulsory implementation of HIV awareness as part of sexual education in secondary schools.

We have made serious progress in tackling HIV in the UK and across the world.  The ONE campaign recently announced, we are finally seeing the “beginning of the end” of the AIDS pandemic, and a research team at the University of Oxford found evidence to suggest HIV to be evolving to become less deadly and infectious.  However, this is still a very serious disease, and although the United Nations AIDS Agency stated that by June this year, 13.6 million people across the globe had access to AIDS medication, a significant improvement from the previous figure of 5 million in 2010, Erin Hohlfelder, ONE’s Director of Global Health Policy, cautioned against “taking a victory lap” in terms of progress with HIV as  there is still much work  to be done, including,  increasing emphasis on prevention work and the current $3 billion shortfall per year of funds needed to control HIV worldwide.

The welfare of our clients is the number one priority for ADS.   We strive to improve their circumstances so that they can achieve recovery from their substance addiction.  Due to the nature of intravenous drug addiction, HIV is obviously a concern for our clients; we will continue to highlight the dangers of sharing needles and promote engagement with our services.  Through good practice and prevention we can curb the spread of HIV and offer support to our clients.

 For more information on world AIDS day, go on tohttp://www.worldaidsday.org/

For more information on HIV and AIDS, go on tohttp://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/HIV/Pages/Introduction.aspx#close

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Changing How We Treat Mental Health

ADS recently attended a conference in London that looked at integrated mental health care in the criminal justice system. The aim of the conference was to inform organisations about current legislation and pilot schemes that are taking place which aim to improve mental health services and reduce re-offending, predominantly by creating partnerships between mental health services and criminal justice systems. This is particularly pertinent at the moment, not only because mental health is high up on the political agenda, for example, Nick Clegg announced on Monday 24th November that he wants to establish a ‘cross-government task force” to improve mental health provision and tackle “outdated attitudes”, but, as a progressive charity, ADS’ ethos hinges on being informed on issues that affect our clients and adapt accordingly.

It’s become apparent that many people who go through the criminal justice system are not being placed on the best or most effective pathway. In this regard, Devonshire & Cornwall Police discussed their partnership with Devonshire NHS Trust, they have created a pilot scheme whereby police officers have direct access to a mental health professional, and are thus more equipped to deal with offenders with mental health issues.

They told the story of a woman who was handcuffed, arrested and left alone in custody for two days after a call informing police that she was threatening people with scissors in her apartment building. After investigating, it became apparent that this woman had a history of Schizophrenia and actually believed somebody had broken into the building and was trying to harm a young couple who lived downstairs. However, her mental health was initially ignored and she began to deteriorate as a result of her treatment by police. This woman has since worked alongside mental health professionals and police to ensure that when the police are called to an incident they have assistance in approaching the situation with care. Although this is currently only a trial scheme, it is one that is proving incredibly successful and will hopefully be rolled out to other areas in the coming years.

Other key issues that were discussed at the conference include; the lack of care available to people when they leave prisons, how we can improve mental health provision in prisons, and something of particular interest to ADS, supporting offenders who have mental health and substance misuse issues.

We have always known that there are strong links between the mental health of substance misusers and their dependence. It has been argued that to tackle this we need to establish more brief interventions, develop effective partnerships and adapt the way in which services are run. For example, as most mental health problems are identified between the hours of 10pm-2am, we need to build service capacity which offers 24 hour support for individuals.

Whilst adapting our service provision and developing partnerships that treat the whole needs of clients, we also need to take into account current provision in the criminal justice system. Currently, only 5% of community orders given by the courts stipulate drug rehab requirements, and, shockingly low for such a prevalent problem, lower than 1% of community orders stipulate mental health rehab requirements. Through creative and innovative partnerships we can target such areas and increase engagement with sectors that traditionally work in silos. ADS is striving to lead by example on these issues and have established a wide ranging partnership, One Recovery Staffordshire, that incorporates a number of organisations, North Staffordshire Combined NHS Trust, Brighter Futures, Changes Health & Wellbeing and Arch housing, that have experience of working with people with different problems, with a particular emphasis on engaging clients with mental health problems; this approach ensures fully integrated services are available.

Partnerships are vital to effective services; these services need to be utilised by courts, visible in the community and offer a number of services rather than treating complex problems in isolation. Engagement with different sectors, particularly mental health is a key priority for ADS. We will continue to engage in debates concerning mental health, whilst developing new services that have client interests at the centre of what we do. However, should it just be up to organisations like ADS to make these changes? Should local authorities stipulate more mental health provision, or do we need strict guidelines and requirements, led by government, on mental health?

What do you think?

To have your say, please take our online poll - ‘Will Nick Clegg’s cross-government taskforce achieve its objectives and improve mental health services across the country?’ here - https://epoll.me/v/ACSSer16fv8

And email [email protected] with any comments!

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Don't forget, we're holding our fantastic annual carol concert in December! Book your FREE tickets now or click the link below for more information!

https://www.facebook.com/events/592337200871059/

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Staying true to our motto at Head Office!

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Are We Ignoring Elderly Female Drinkers?

An article published today by the Telegraph discusses a report by Public Health England that notes there has been a 65% increase in women over pension age seeking treatment for drinking problems. It has been suggested that as many older women are stepping down from successful careers into retirement, their drinking habits are no longer constrained. Dr.McLauren, a consultant psychiatrist at The Priory said that this problem has been going unnoticed for too long and that figures could be even higher than originally thought as many elderly female drinkers keep their habits hidden.

One thing that this is being attributed to is the availability of home deliveries of shopping as it allows alcohol to be easily obtained and delivered right to the door of the drinkers. Dr.McLauren stated “I have seen many examples of alcohol being delivered to older people who are too damaged or impaired by it to go out and buy it themselves” which in itself can be seen as a cause for concern. In addition, although older men receiving treatment for drinking problems is still significantly higher than women, this new report shows that the gender gap within this has actually halved – showing more women seeking treatment.

Within this time, it’s also important to note that the number of younger people aged 18-24 going into treatment for drinking problems has fallen by 23%. This challenges the previous and popular claims that in England we have a rather reckless and binge-drinking youth culture as it can be seen that young people are in fact “leading the way” when it comes to cutting back on alcohol (John Bingham, Telegraph).

Thus, we have to ask the question, in general and from the perspective of ADS – are health services doing enough to tackle elderly drinking? Can it be argued that for too long we have focused on targeting young people for their attitudes towards alcohol and drinking habits, to the point we have ignored the elderly population?

On the other hand though, it can also be seen that these recent studies demonstrate the success of health services in tackling young people’s alcoholism. If so, this is definitely something to be regarded as a great achievement and perhaps these successes can be channelled and these campaigns can be reimagined for an older audience? Email me @ [email protected]

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20 ways to improve your life

Try out these powerful tips that are said to improve your life significantly.

Life Hack is also a very good website for bitesized information and tips including everything from money to health and work.

Give it a look and try some things out - see if you feel better :)

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Oldham Council's Latest Campaign

The following article is copied from The Oldham Evening Chronicle (Tuesday 21st October 2014).

A regional campaign to protect youngsters from the dangers of alcohol has received backing from Oldham Council. “Let’s Look Again at Alcohol”, run by Drink Wise, was launched in response to research that shows 20 per cent of North-West children have been badly harmed by someone else’s drinking — including parents and close family.  A survey shows one in five adults knew of a child who had been affected by the drinking of a family, friend or stranger. This includes mental or physical harm. Alan Higgins, Director of Public Health for Oldham said: “The parental misuse of alcohol is a national factor in over 50 per cent of child abuse cases. Alcohol and childhood do not mix. “The drinks industry has played a big role in creating a culture of normality towards alcohol. It is probably cheaper and easier to get hold of than any other recreational drug, and as a result people can easily become dependent on it.

“Through no fault of their own, often it is innocent children who bear the brunt of alcohol-related harms. “Oldham Council and its partners are committed and proven in helping people reduce their alcohol intake and ensuring that they lead as healthy a life as possible. However, we know there is much more to do to tackle this national issue. “I would urge all parents and relatives of children who drink alcohol to take a look at the dangers it could be causing.” Oldham Council and the clinical Commissioning Group has implemented several key initiatives in recent years to bring down the number cases of problem drinking and alcohol related illness. A number of innovative prevention initiatives are currently under way or being planned locally such as pilot project “Power to Resist” which focuses on encouraging and supporting parents and adult family members to set a good example.

Young people have been creating YouTube clips to provide information to adults about alcohol in a more interesting way.  As well as working with residents through the Drug and Alcohol Action Rehabilitation Team (DAAT) the council also works with pubs and clubs to promote responsible drinking with the “Best Bar None” scheme. Addiction Dependency Solutions (ADS) Oldham welcomes any local initiatives that target the harmful effects of alcohol misuse and fully supports Oldham Council in addressing this important issue. Stephen Samuels, ADS Oldham service manager, said: “If anyone feels their drinking is affecting their relationship with, or harming their children and family life, I would urge them to get in contact with our service – by working together we can make a difference”.

Oldham Council and DrinkWise have launched a new film through the “Let’s Look Again at Alcohol” campaign to get people to think about what more we can do to protect young people from alcohol.

Watch the film online at www.vimeo.com/107850626

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Minimum Unit Pricing

Most recent research from Public Health England (PHE) has sparked the debates surrounding the availability of alcohol and Britain’s drinking culture. They claim there has been a 40% rise in liver deaths within the last decade and that more than 1/3 of these deaths are attributed to alcohol. The results have been referred to as “rapid and shocking” with an apparent 95% of these deaths being preventable.

Prof Julia Verne, who is head of liver disease at PHE, said: "It's clear from looking at the data that the continuous availability of alcohol, and not just binge drinking, is fuelling an increase in deaths from liver disease.”

This feeds into the debate about minimum unit pricing. A study published last month in the British Medical Journal stated that a 45p minimum unit price would annually save the lives of 624 people and reduce admissions by 23,700. This is a significant improvement from the figures estimated under the current legislation which targets below-cost alcohol.

As minimum unit pricing was last considered in 2012 by the government, but was rejected in 2013 on the grounds that there was not enough evidence to support its effectiveness in reducing harm – perhaps leading up to the next general election this will be something parties are most certainly supporting?

However – there is a further debate surrounding this. It can be argued that not only does the introduction of minimum unit pricing go against liberal ideas about responsibility and individual freedom, but it is founded on the idea that increasing the cost of alcohol will change the way people perceive it and consume it – a notion that could be considered overly-simplistic.

It is clear that significantly more needs to be done in order to tackle alcohol based issues rather than just increasing the price of alcohol. Although this makes it less available to poorer members of society – it can be disputed whether or not a mere increase in price will deter regular drinkers who have become reliant on the substance.

ADS remains in its position as a critical friend to organisations and campaigns regarding alcohol and drug use but what do you think? Would you support minimum unit pricing? How does this affect our freedom on a larger scale? Are the real reasons behind drinking culture being ignored? And has the government got its priorities right?

Read two differing and both very convincing opinions & join the debate here - http://www.cps.org.uk/get-involved/debate/q/ref-6/

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Inspirational video of a TEDx talk about the resilience of the human spirit in overcoming recovery. Informative & uplifting.

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A blog for recovering addicts by a recovering addict where you can share stories, tips and feel part of a wider community.

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Walk For Recovery

I'm pleased to thank and congratulate everyone who took part in the Manchester Recovery Walk in September!

The event, which happens every September and is the biggest gathering of recovering people in Europe, celebrates those who have managed to quit addictions to alcohol and other drugs, and "the achievements of individuals in recovery, and acknowledges the work of prevention, treatment, and recovery service providers".

Our One Recovery Bury Service took part in the walk and stated - "What a wonderful day we had amongst thousands of people in, and in support of, Recovery. We met lots of interesting individuals from all around the UK".

This is just another example of the dedication and positive spirit our staff have and how we can all be inspired and encouraged to support the brave journey of those facing addiction recovery.

A big thank you again to anyone who took part in the UK Recovery walk & we look forward to next years!