Download effectiveness of drug and alcohol treatment

Item 5a
BOROUGH OF POOLE
SCRUTINY BOARD
16 APRIL 2008
CABINET
4 MARCH 2008
Extract from Minutes
CA133.08 THIRD QUARTER PERFORMANCE REPORT AND UPDATE ON RISK
MANAGEMENT – AGENDA ITEM 4
DECISIONS TAKEN
…
(i)
Cabinet request the Scrutiny Board to consider whether during the
programme for 2008/09 that Overview and Scrutiny review the
effectiveness of drug and alcohol treatment services;
…
Drug Treatment
With regard to National Treatment Agency (NTA) targets for drug treatment, there
were 3 categories; treatment, retention and waiting times. Councillor Ms Atkinson
drew attention to 2 of the areas, explaining that the target for number in treatment
was 554 in Poole with the performance being 460 at the end of December. The
target for retention was 85% of clients to be retained in treatment for more than 12
weeks. Councillor Ms Atkinson was pleased to report that this had increased during
the year from 62% to 70%.
Extract from Report
7.8.
There are three main National Treatment Agency (NTA) targets for drug treatment:
numbers in treatment, retaining clients in treatment for 12 weeks or more, and
waiting times.

Numbers in treatment - Poole's target is 554 and performance to end
December was 460. There has been a reduction in drug referrals during the
year and a high DNA (did not attend) rate which is impacting on achieving this
Scrutiny Board 16 April 2008
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target. A new weekly multi-agency allocation meeting will address DNA rates,
retention of clients and reduction of waiting times by ensuring all referrals are
triaged to the most appropriate treatment at start of client's treatment journey.

Retention - NTA target is for 85% of clients to be retained in treatment for
more than 12 weeks. Performance has increased steadily during the year
from 62% to 70%. A retention action plan has been implemented by all
providers, developed in consultation with the Service User Forum, and
feedback from Service Users has been very positive.

Waiting times target is for 85% of clients to be seen within 3 weeks of referral.
This target is being met by all providers except for the Poole Addictions
Community Team (PACT), who are achieving 30%. The allocation meeting is
already improving PACT's waiting times with only 3 drug clients on the waiting
list at the end of December. A Low Threshold service will offer fast access
(within 3 days of referral) to specialist prescribing.
The NTA do not include alcohol clients in the above targets. There has been an
increase in alcohol clients this year with 397 clients receiving treatment compared
with 363 during 2006/07. Waiting times have improved during the year from a
maximum wait of 22 weeks in September to an average wait of 5.5 weeks during
December. A Brief Intervention Therapy Service for alcohol clients is due to start
during the next financial year.
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Scrutiny Board 16 April 2008