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Double standards in addiction services

Posted By crf07

"Double standards in addiction services"

About: Glasgow Community Services

(as a staff member posting for a patient/service user),

On 29 April I went to get a blood borne virus (BBV) test from a project who were offering £20 to people who got a test – however, when I got there, I found out that the £20 is an NHS initiative which only gives £20 to people who inject drugs. As I don’t inject drugs, I couldn’t get the £20. I think this is unfair because people who inject drugs still can be at risk of BBVs, so why is it one system for them and another for other people? This is something I have also noticed elsewhere, for example when it comes to prescribing medication to help with addiction – as someone who is addicted to alcohol I have to be referred to Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services then wait to be seen by a psychologist whereas people who are addicted to heroin get a prescription that day. In terms of the £20 voucher I could have said to the worker that I occasionally inject to get the £20 but I didn’t because it isn’t about the money – it’s about the double standards when it comes to working with people living with addiction.  

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Responses

Response from Nicole McInally, Patient Experience and Public Involvement Project Manager, PEPI, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde 2 years ago
Nicole McInally
Patient Experience and Public Involvement Project Manager, PEPI,
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Submitted on 13/05/2021 at 08:58
Published on Care Opinion at 08:58

picture of Nicole McInally

Posted on behalf of Kelda Gaffney

Dear CFO7

Thank you for contacting us and I am sorry that you have been left feeling angry and that there is a double standard within Addiction Services.

To give you some background information, the project that you are referring to is the WAND Initiative which was developed to provide a multi-agency harm reduction response to the four main harms associated with drug injecting. These are the ongoing HIV outbreak amongst people who inject drugs in Glasgow, injecting related complications, overdose and the public health emergency of escalating drug related deaths.

The incentive voucher is only supplied when four interventions have been completed. The four interventions include: investigation and management of injecting related wounds, a detailed assessment of injecting risk carried out by trained needle exchange staff, training and supply of naloxone to prevent fatal overdose and a BBV dried blood spot test. The initiative has a number of aims and is designed to reduce injecting related harms, reduce drug related deaths, to promote engagement with services and to reduce the stigma associated with injecting drug use.

I note that you have mentioned the need to see a psychologist as an alcohol patient to access medication but I can confirm that this is not the case and there may have been some miscommunication. Glasgow Alcohol and Drug Services are multi-disciplinary and psychologists are an integral part of the teams, but they are not involved in alcohol treatment decisions. Patients who are alcohol dependant often require a robust health assessment, with a nurse or medical officer. Treatment is a different medication to the treatment for drug use, and the affects and impact of treatment are very different. Therefore, alcohol treatment should be initiated on the same day as referral or assessment to ensure that interventions are clinically safe and do not put patients at risk.

If you wish to discuss your own care and treatment further, please contact 0141 303 8971, which is a central number. You will be asked for some detail around the team with whom you are working, and a manager will return your call.

Kind Regards

Kelda Gaffney

Interim Head of Adult Services

Specialist Mental Health Services & Tier 4/City Centre Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services

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