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UNDERCOVER SCANDAL
An undercover ‘mystery shopper’ investigation carried
out by Crisis revealed that homeless people seeking
help from local authorities are being turned away to
sleep on the streets. People received no help in nearly
60 per cent of cases, including victims of domestic
violence. ‘This is nothing short of a scandal,’ said
Crisis chief executive Jon Sparkes. ‘On top of the
human cost, it is incredibly expensive for society,
which has to pick up the pieces.’
Turned away: the
treatment of single homeless people by local authority
homelessness services in England at www.crisis.org.uk
NEW DIRECTION
The Liberal Democrats voted to pass a new party
policy on drugs ‘based on the latest evidence’ at
their conference in Glasgow last month, including
‘immediately’ ending the use of imprisonment for
possession as well as tightening the laws on stop
and search. ‘When it comes to tackling crime it is
easy to talk tough,’ said the party’s home affairs
spokesperson Julian Huppert. ‘But talking tough
doesn’t deliver results.’
POPPY PROBLEM
Despite a decade-long reconstruction programme and
more than $7bn spent on counter-narcotics activity,
Afghanistan’s poppy cultivation is at an ‘all-time high’,
according to a report from the Office of the Special
Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
(SIGAR). ‘I strongly suggest that your departments
consider the trends in opium cultivation and the
effectiveness of past counter-narcotics efforts when
planning future initiatives,’ special inspector general
John F. Sopko wrote to secretary of state John Kerry
and other senior US government figures.
PUBLIC SECTOR PRIZE
WDP chair Yasmin Batliwala has been named winner
of the Women in the City, Woman of Achievement
public sector category award 2014.‘There are so
many fantastic women working in the public sector,
which makes me extremely proud to have won this
award,’ she said. ‘I am dedicated to supporting
women’s progress in the public sector and ensuring
gender equality and diversity, particularly through
helping the most vulnerable in society.’
NALOXONE ACTION PLAN
An ‘action summit on naloxone’ has taken place in
London to create an immediate action plan for
England ‘to cut the red tape which is causing
unnecessary deaths’. Dr Chris Ford hosted the
meeting, which included CEOs of treatment providers,
researchers, doctors, user groups, experts by
experience and officials from government
departments, and considered ideas and practice from
Scotland and Wales. ‘It always comes down to people,
not policies,’ she said, challenging the government’s
refusal to amend regulations on distributing naloxone
until October 2015.
Full report in December’s DDN.
The rate of drug-related hospital stays in
Scotland has increased from 41 per 100,000
population to 124 per 100,000 since 1996/97,
according to new figures issued by ISD Scotland.
In 2013/14, almost 70 per cent of drug-related
stays were associated with opioids and more
than 90 per cent were emergency admissions.
The rate of hospital stays increased among older
age groups – from 20 to 213 per 100,000 for those
aged 40-44 – while decreasing among younger
people. Scottish Drug Forum director David Liddell
recently stressed the importance of engaging with
the country’s cohort of older, entrenched drug users
(
DDN
, October, page 8).
‘The steadily increasing rate of hospital stays
related to drug misuse shows that we are fighting a
losing battle,’ said Scottish Liberal Democrat health
spokesperson Jim Hume MSP. ‘It is worrying that
those from Scotland’s poorest communities continue
to suffer most from the blight of illegal drug misuse,’
he added, stressing that the figures highlighted the
need for a ‘radical’ change in approach to drug policy.
Figures showing a two-thirds increase in the
number of take-home naloxone kits issued were
welcomed by the Scottish government, however.
‘Our world-leading programme for take-home
naloxone, alongside life-saving training, sends a
clear message that lives matter, and will help those
who may not have engaged with drugs services
before,’ said community safety minister Roseanna
Cunningham. ‘While problem drug use among the
general adult population and young people has
decreased, there is still an older group of people
who now also face a range of other health problems
placing them at increased risk of overdose and
death. We are determined to tackle this and support
these vulnerable people. The naloxone programme
is a key part of this.’
Drug-related hospital statistics Scotland 2014 and
National naloxone programme Scotland – naloxone kits
issued in 2013/14 and trends in opioid-related deaths at
www.isdscotland.org
4 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| November 2014
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
News |
Round-up
NEWS IN BRIEF
A drug that helps to reduce the craving for alcohol
in heavy drinkers has been recommended by the
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
(NICE).
Nalmefene has a UK marketing authorisation for
the ‘reduction of alcohol consumption in adult
patients with alcohol dependence’, but who do not
have physical withdrawal symptoms or require
immediate detoxification. The drug – also known by its
trade name Selincro – is licensed for use alongside
psychosocial support to help people reduce their
alcohol intake and ‘give them the encouragement they
need to continue with their treatment’.
In a new draft guidance document, NICE says that
the drug should be available ‘as an option’ to regular
heavy drinkers, with almost 600,000 people eligible for
the treatment. It should only be used with patients
who still have a high drinking risk level two weeks
after initial assessment, says NICE. Final guidance is
expected towards the end of the year.
‘Those who could be prescribed nalmefene have
already taken the first big steps by visiting their
doctor, engaging with support services and taking
part in therapy programmes,’ said health technology
evaluation centre director at NICE, Professor Carole
Longson. ‘We are pleased to be able to recommend
the use of nalmefene to support people further in
their efforts to fight alcohol dependence. When
used alongside psychosocial support nalmefene is
clinically and cost effective for the NHS compared
with psychosocial support alone.’
The Faculty of Public Health, however, said that
while medication was ‘one route’, there were also
‘relatively simple alternatives’ such as tougher
alcohol advertising restrictions and minimum unit
pricing. ‘While it is up to each of us to look after our
health, government has a responsibility to take
action on everyone's behalf when lives can be saved,’
said the faculty’s alcohol lead, Professor Mark Bellis.
‘That's why public health professionals have long
been calling for a minimum unit price for alcohol.
‘We need to think very carefully about how we use
limited NHS resources,’ he continued. ‘Prescribing
nalmefene will increase pressure on the NHS when
there are alternatives that would reduce pressure on
health services by cutting alcohol consumption. There
are always side effects from medication and we don’t
know yet what the long-term impact will be. That’s
why we need a clear commitment from government
to minimum unit pricing.’
Alcohol dependence – nalmefene, draft guidance
document at www.nice.org.uk
NICE pill for heavy drinkers
‘There is an older
group of people... at
increased risk of
overdose and death.’
ROSEANNA CUNNINGHAM
Sharp rise in Scottish drug-
related hospital admissions