GREAT NEWS FOR ADDICTS IN BATH

Drug addicts and alcoholics in Bath will see the way they are treated
change drastically next spring. Reporter Rachael Sugden met users receiving
help in the city and their support team to find out what the future will hold

Around 900 people in Bath are trying to wean themselves off a drug or an
alcohol addiction. Some are undergoing a physically and mentally gruelling
detox programme.

Others are finally dealing with emotions they have locked away for decades,
including memories of child abuse or violent partners.

All of them are receiving help from various agencies in the city and the
surrounding area.

Hundreds more may still be trapped in their own particular habit - too ill
to know they need help or how to go about finding it.

In April, Bath and North East Somerset Council will launch a new support
system for addicts which will revolutionise the way people find care and
are treated.

Next spring, the two voluntary organisations, Bath Drugs Advisory Service
(BADAS) and the Drugs and Homeless Initiative (DHI), will be much improved.

The services they offer now are already among the best in the country -
during the last 12 months, they had a 73 per cent success rate among users
going through rehabilitation programmes. This is higher than anywhere else
in the south west.

After years of relapses and near-death overdoses, Bath's addicts and
alcoholics in the treatment system have found that the city is the answer
to their prayers.

While some are still using occasionally, or having the odd drink to curb
the terrible withdrawal effects of going cold turkey, they all now have
hope and are starting to deal with issues surrounding their addictions.

The changes next April will mean that each organisation deals with separate
needs, ensuring they are all more effective.

ACAD, the Advice and Counselling on Alcohol and Drugs service, won't be
commissioned.

Instead, BADAS will continue to provide a drop-in advice and information
centre, needle exchange and group work, but it will be the only access
point into the system.

The DHI will continue to provide care and resettlement support, but the two
organisations' services will no longer overlap.

The council is still negotiating with the NHS to provide specialist
prescribing - such as methadone for heroin addicts.

At the moment, services are commissioned as funding becomes available,
which means there have been gaps in provision.

From the end of April, addicts will be guaranteed an appointment with a GP
who can prescribe special assistance drugs within two weeks.

Structured day care will also be available within two weeks.

In the past year, waiting lists for treatment have already been cut, from
almost two years to four months.

Next year's new structure will ensure even more people can be helped and
faster.

Ian Keasey, the council's joint commissioning officer for the Drug Action
Team - the umbrella group including the Primary Care Trust, police and
Probation Service, which oversees all drug and alcohol treatment in the
area - said the changes would benefit everyone within the system.

"The national framework defines what sort of treatment is to be offered,"
he said.

"It was launched by the Government in 2001.

"Within that are waiting time targets and other targets on things like
effectiveness.

"We will be questioning how good the treatment is and the number of people
receiving treatment, along with the numbers who have been successfully treated.

"I can't wait because my job is going to change completely and I'm going to
be much more hands-on.

"It may appear that Bath is behind other areas at the moment because they
have already been tinkering with their services to meet the new targets
coming in next year.

"But we are a long way ahead of the game. We have looked at everything we
are already doing and have kept the best."

The only black mark on the service is its current waiting times for
prescriptions, which is above the national average but is to be slashed
next year.

The wait has already been reduced from 99 weeks, three years ago to 15 weeks.

"People will be able to access treatment immediately.

"While it is possible they will have greater problems to be dealt with in
time, they will be able to start dealing with them straight away and get
themselves into the treatment system from the outset.

"The majority of people seeking help have other problems, either
psychological or social, housing difficulties or family problems, because
that is the nature of substance misuse.

"We are already tackling the problems behind the addictions, but it will be
improved."

DHI and BADAS can already point people in the direction of education and
training opportunities, with the aim of reintegrating them in society and
eventually securing a job and a home.

In the future, this will be managed better, and the organisations will work
together more closely for the benefit of users.

Esther Harris, the DHI's team leader for structured day care, explained
that clients were already able to access a variety of treatments, including
complementary therapies.

She added: "We intend to offer a flexible holistic programme, tailored to
the individual clients' needs, together with a warm welcome."