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Prisons
18 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| January 2014
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Jonathan Munro
tells DDN about
the pioneering
partnership working
happening among
prisons in the
North East
THE PRISON PARTNERSHIP
is a new venture formed in April 2013, which brings together
all substance misuse treatment providers in the North East under one single partnership
umbrella.
The partnership is made up of seven prison service establishments, NOMS, providers
such as Care UK, Phoenix Futures, Lifeline and NECA – all coordinated by Addaction. The
aim of the partnership is to provide an integrated team approach, both within prisons and
also for prison transfers to the community, enabling a coordinated transition.
With a ‘partnership manager’ overseeing and coordinating the commissioned service
providers, a truly collaborative treatment approach is being delivered with obvious benefits
to service users.
Addaction were offered the opportunity to deliver the prison partnership model, because of
their strong belief in partnership working. Although they had lots of experience of delivering in
partnership, and had a community partnership model already located in the North East
community, this venture was the first of its kind in prisons, both locally and nationally.
The North East is home to between 5,000 and 5,500 prisoners, a large proportion of
whom have substance misuse issues. They are housed in a wide variety of prisons each
of which, despite being very different
establishments, has a Drug and Alcohol
Recovery Team (DART) consisting of differing
service providers offering both clinical and non-
clinical interventions.
Overseen by Addaction partnership
managers, the interventions are increasingly
bespoke for the individual establishment, and
consequently treatment is tailor-made for the
service users rather than the off-the-shelf
programmes so often offered in the past.
The recovery community in the North East is
growing, and thanks to the innovative thinking
of commissioners, the numbers are swelling
inside prisons. There is a thriving recovery
community emerging, with drug recovery wings,
therapeutic communities and bespoke
interventions. There are peer support,
structured substance misuse and alcohol rolling
programmes, as well as SMART, 12-step and
NA/AA/CA all available.
In October 2013, an event launching a ‘partnership working agreement’ document
took place in Durham City. The document places service users at its heart and details
partnership working for substance misuse treatment within North East prisons.
The event heard from the likes of Gerv McGrath, the director of community services for
Addaction, Professor John Podmore, a trustee of Addaction and ex-prison governor, and Mark
Harrison, the commissioner responsible for the partnership management function in the
community and instrumental in the introduction of the model to the prisons.
Delegates listened to ex-service users who had benefited from partnership working
and who were now free from prison, drugs and crime as a result. They also got to ‘meet
the team’ – the strategic partnership manager, Lynn Dougan and the partnership
managers, all of whom have been appointed to individual prisons. Between us, we
possess an eclectic range of backgrounds and experience, and we each spoke
passionately about our new positions.
We aren’t naïve to the challenges facing us, but our camaraderie, enthusiasm and pride in
our work made it clear to delegates exactly why this model of partnership working is proving
successful in getting results in the challenging environments of North East prisons.
The partnership management function is driving forward the recovery agenda in the
heart of the prisons and gaining the collaboration and respect of the respective prison
establishments. Delegates heard about the work currently being undertaken in each
prison and the exciting plans for the future.
The tagline at the bottom of each page of the partnership working agreement says it
all: ‘Working together to deliver the best service possible to service users, their families
and carers.’ It is clear the partnership management model of collaboration between
different service providers is proving to be a success and drawing attention from across
the UK – how long will it be before it’s rolled out beyond the North East of England?
Jonathan Munro is the partnership manager at HMP & YOI Low Newton
‘There is a
thriving
recovery
community
emerging...
There is peer
support...’
UNITED
we stand