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changes, the seeds of progress are ploughed up and
obstacles strewn in our path. That’s when we’re not
getting in our own way and tripping ourselves up for
one reason or another.
I could explore changes to funding and political
structures, degrees of workforce competence, the
adequacy of investment in research and whether
sufficient priority is given to families. I could discuss
recovery and treatment modalities and the tensions
between them and examine the commissioning and
providing relationship and more.
But I think the fundamental problem is that
unlike other life-threatening conditions we simply do
not yet as a society really take addiction seriously in
its own right. We only address it because of its costly
nuisance effect. Empathy for addicted people
remains in pretty short supply.
It’s not treated like every other major life-
threatening ailment; cancer, diabetes, heart disease,
for instance. Why? The answer is stigma. Society looks
at our client group through the lens of the
consequences of addiction and projects conveniently
onto it. It loses sight of the people; the human beings.
Until, as a society, we adjust our way of looking at
addiction and thereby remove the stigma, we will
never properly understand it or be able to respond in
a fully rational way that moves beyond the kind of
uncoordinated tinkering that characterises much of
what we do now.
Once we have done that we can begin to look
bravely at the question as to why addiction
flourishes in our society in the first place. Maybe in
another ten years we will have got there.
Nick Barton, chief executive, Action on Addiction
‘THE HEART OF THE MATTER’
WITH THE HELP
of supportive commissioners,
Nottingham’s service users have made sure they’re
now at the heart of decision-making.
May’s meeting of Nottingham’s Recovery Forum
celebrated ten years of meaningful service user
involvement. Over the years the forum has had
numerous names, but the function has always been
the same – not only for service users to feed into the
commissioning process, but also development of
services, as well as being a catalyst for many
members to go on to paid employment, and not just
in substance misuse and mental health.
As was recognised quite early on, clients in recovery,
be it on medication, in aftercare or not even engaging,
have many complex needs and it was decided other
groups would be set up with active user involvement
at their heart.
Through the Recovery Forum (and its various
names) other forums have become established, such
as the Dual Diagnosis Forum (DDF), Alcohol Service
Users’ Forum (ASUF) and Substance Campaigns User
Friendly – formerly Shared Care User Forum – (SCUF).
These forums were set up not only to give shape and
input into needs assessments, service provision and
delivery, but also to give participants a time to check in
with their peers for things such as self help and
support, as well harm reduction and awareness
education and access to training.
The forum and its members have always been
integral to anything that has happened within
substance misuse in Nottingham City and several
members sit on various steering group and strategy
meetings and working groups.
One thing that has been key to the Recovery
Forum’s success is its desire to do partnership work
with all the agencies and support services within the
city to ensure not only cost effective, but also
successful, services that are fit for purpose.
Members of the group have been involved with
various agencies producing DVDs around needlestick
injuries, safe returns and overdose response, and
have produced consistent award-winning work
around stigma.
Members of the forum were involved when it
came to relocating and rebuilding our current detox
unit to become a state-of-the-art unit called The
Woodlands, whose statistics speak for themselves.
The building and fittings are still as new three years
on as when it was built – all down to service users
and staff respecting the environment.
The Recovery Forum continues to be at the
forefront of what is done in Nottingham’s treatment
system, and in November last year two organisations
came together for ‘Recovery Rocks’ (DDN, January,
page 10) where more than £400 was raised to
provide food parcels at the homeless drop-in.
Although it took four years and many meetings
– as is often the case with strategic stuff – it was
because of the service user relationship and power
that naloxone is now being distributed, with 64
kits being issued since it was launched in
December last year.
Among many many other things besides The
Woodlands and the provision of naloxone, service
users are where they should be – at the heart of
what’s happening, thanks to a forward-thinking
commissioning team, a dedicated involvement
worker and a committed group of service users
refusing to be pushed aside and ignored.
Lee Collingham, service user
activist, Nottingham
‘Grass-roots emergence
of user-led initiatives
has been amazing.’
KEVIN FLEMEN
‘Empathy for addicted
people remains in
pretty short supply.’
NICK BARTON
‘It took four years...
naloxone is now
being distributed’
LEE COLLINGHAM
November 2014 |
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