People seeking help for drug use in East Ayrshire are receiving
support the same day through an initiative introduced ahead of
new treatment standards for Scotland.
A total of £4 million was announced in May to fund Medication
Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards, which will mean people who
use drugs receive help the day they ask for it regardless of
where they live.
The Alcohol and Drugs Partnership in East Ayrshire started the
RADAR (Rapid Access to Drug and Alcohol Recovery) project in
April in response to requests for quicker access to treatment.
All patients who present for help on weekdays are given
appropriate support the same day with an emergency service
available at weekends.
Drugs Policy Minister said:
“I am pleased to see how the RADAR project in East Ayrshire is
benefitting patients, providing the right support at the right
time for those who want it.
“It has been extremely interesting to hear from staff and service
users on how the initiative has been working and we will take the
lessons learned here as we move to roll-out same-day support
across Scotland. We will start to see this happening from this
autumn.
“Getting more people into treatment is key to our national
mission to tackle drug deaths. The MAT standards are vital to
this, ensuring consistency across the country, and I have set a
target of April 2022 for the implementation of all 10 of them.
These standards reinforce a rights-based approach for people who
use drugs and the treatment they should expect, regardless of
where they live.
“We have said a national mission is needed to tackle the drug
deaths emergency and we have allocated an additional £250 million
over the next five years to improve and increase access to
services for people affected by drug addiction. “
East Ayrshire Council’s spokesperson for Social Care, Mental
Wellbeing and Addiction Recovery Councillor Clare Maitland said:
“Partnership projects such as RADAR make vital, positive impacts
to the health and wellbeing of people in our communities. I am
very encouraged that since the beginning of April we have been
able to provide support within one day to people who are
concerned about their drug use and have asked for help.
“We know that being in contact with a service is a significant
protective factor in preventing drug related deaths. The faster
we can get someone help and support, the better the outcomes will
be for them, their family, and ultimately for our communities. So
reducing our waiting time for drug and alcohol treatment from
three weeks to in most cases, just one day has been a great step
forward for East Ayrshire.”
Chair of the East Ayrshire Alcohol and Drugs Partnership Neil
Kerr said:
“RADAR is a direct result of listening to and working with our
services and people who use them. We heard loud and clear that
waiting for three weeks for treatment was three weeks too long.
We need to intervene with people and support them when they ask
for it and often that means the same day.”
Service user David said:
"In my opinion, the RADAR service has been a flawless service. I
have had no issues with them. They have been in constant contact
with me and I feel very well supported. My life would be far less
stable without my key worker and if the service was not
available."
BACKGROUND
New treatment standards
for drug users
