Substance misuse
service
Supporting you in
your recovery -
a guide to our services
Contents
Supporting you in your recovery
Page 3
Working together towards recovery Page 4
Assessment
Page 4
Developing a treatment plan
Page 5
Treatment options—alcohol
Page 6
Treatment options—opiates
Page 7
Our Community Teams
Page 9
Newcastle and Moorlands
Page 9
Stoke
Page 10
Edward Myers Unit (EMU)
Page 11
How to get referred to EMU
Page 13
Health promotion
Page 13
PALS & Complaints Team
Page 14
Talk to Frank
Page 15
How to contact our services
Page 16
Interpretation Services
If English is not your first language or you use sign language
and you require an interpreter please let us know and we will
arrange this for your assessment.
Available in other formats
The information in this booklet can be made available to you in
another language, large print version, in Braille or in audio
format, contact PALS on 0800 389 9676.
2 3
your recovery
North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust provides services in the local community and in hospital for people wishing to recover from misuse of alcohol and/or drugs.
This booklet tells you about what we do and how you can be referred to us. It also tells you about other local services that we work in partnership with to help you.
Our approach to your care includes ‘the recovery model’, which means we believe that when people are misusing drugs or alcohol significant
improvements in physical and mental health are possible, and we want to help people achieve this.
Understanding your life and experiences, past and present, is an essential part of recovery and well-being. This includes the difficult life experiences that can lead to stress and trauma, such as assault,
domestic violence, debt, abuse, and neglect. Understanding
your cultural and religious or spiritual beliefs is also very important.
Our substance misuse services are there to support you in this process and can help you on the pathway to a full re-covery.
The life-style choices that will help you improve your health include exercise, good diet and sleep habits, outdoor, creative and social activities. We can identify what treat-ments may be helpful and ei-ther provide this ourselves or help you get access to them. This may include medication, counselling, social support or complementary therapy.
Working together towards recovery
Combined Healthcare NHS
Trust has substance misuse
teams throughout North
Staffordshire that work
to-gether to help you.
The next few pages explain
how the services work with
you and other health
profes-sionals towards your
recov-ery.
Assessment
Your first assessment will be
carried out by a nurse or
doc-tor. It will take place in a
range of locations such as
your GP’s surgery, your home
or a clinic.
The assessment will help us
to identify what your needs
are and which service would
be the best to help you.
At the assessment, we will
focus on your alcohol or
sub-stance misuse difficulty.
the assessment, but you need
to consider that some
sensi-tive areas may be discussed.
The assessment involves
gath-ering relevant information to
get a clear picture. You will
need to be as honest as
possi-ble when answering
ques-tions and talking about
your-self to ensure that we have
accurate information and can
offer treatment that meets
your needs.
Your assessment should take
about an hour. Please note
that we may not be able to
assess you if you are heavily
intoxicated.
Options for treatment of alcohol misuse include:
Planned and safe gradual reduction of alcohol to either safer levels or abstinence dependent on the individual. If suitable, home
detoxification by a
Community Mental Health Nurse (CMHN) with
prescribed medication normally from your GP. If necessary, referral for in- patient detoxification.
Blood tests may be arranged at your assessment to find out if your drinking has caused any physical health problems. Should this be the case, if you consent, you may be referred to a specialist for further help.
If significant mental health problems are discovered, then you could either be referred to your GP for treatment or to a Psychiatrist for further assessment with your consent.
You will be encouraged to consider referral to a Rehabilitation centre.
Referral to other agencies for support, including Social Services, AA and ADSIS. During this process, your
keyworker will work with you to reduce risk of relapse and help you to find ways of maintaining your abstinence.
If your goal is a planned and safe, gradual reduction of alcohol drinking to reduce to a safe level (14 units per week for women, 21 units per week for men is
recommended), you could be referred to ADSIS for support, or alternatively you may refer yourself. Helpline numbers and other details of organisations will be given to help you and your family/friends to seek support at any time. (see Page 13)
The term “opiate” includes drugs such as heroin and prescribed
painkillers such as codeine.
Developing a treatment plan
Following assessment, the
in-formation gathered from you
will be discussed by the team
and the most suitable
treat-ment will be agreed.
This may mean continuing
treatment with our service or
you may decide that you
would like to be referred to
other services.
Please feel free to ask any
questions at anytime if you
do not fully understand the
process.
You may find it useful to jot
down any questions before
the assessment appointment.
Written information will be
given to you, including a
copy of your care plan once it
has been agreed.
Your GP will be informed
about the assessment and
care plan.
We will provide further
infor-mation if you choose to get
support from another
organi-sation.
6 7
At your first appointment,
you will have a full
assessment including a urine
screen or mouth swab test to
find out what substances you
are or have been taking.
If required we prescribe
medication to replace
(“substitute”) the opiate
drug you have been taking.
The medications we use
would be methadone or
buprenorphine (also known
as subutex).
Depending on the outcome
of the assessment you could
then be accepted for
treatment on one of the
following options shown in
the table, on the next page.
Additional options for help
will be discussed with you,
this may include referral to
Addaction or ADS.
There is growing evidence to
suggest that treatment
supported by psychotherapy,
such as Cognitive Behavioural
Psychotherapy, may benefit
some people, your keyworker
can discuss this with you.
There is also evidence to
suggest that auricular
acupuncture (small needles
placed at points in your ear)
helps with cravings and with
relaxation, you may be
referred for this following
discussion with your
keyworker.
The table on the next page
shows the ways in which we
can help you with your
opiate addiction and how
services work together
towards your recovery.
Shared Care
GP with Special
Interest Clinic
(GPSI)
Specialist Clinic
(Edward Myers
Centre)
If your GP is part of this scheme, he/she will be able to prescribe your opiate substitute. You will be expected to see both the GP and keyworker atregular intervals and will be expected to provide saliva or urine samples as required.
A clinic run by a GP specialising in substance misuse and opiate substitute prescribing. You will be expected to see both the GP and keyworker at regular intervals and will be expected to provide saliva or urine samples as required. A clinic overseen by a Consultant specialising in substance misuse and opiate substitute
prescribing.
You will be expected to attend weekly at first and to provide a urine sample as required. You may also be asked to provide blood and breathalyser samples. Pregnant drug users will also be referred to this clinic.
Aim
To stabilise on prescription and to consider planned reduction of prescription longer term.Aim
To stabilise on prescription, reduce/cease using other substances. Planned reduction when you are ready.Once stable, you may be transferred to shared care if your GP provides it. You may be transferred to the specialist clinic if specialist needs arise.
Aim
To stabilise on prescription and be monitored weekly for any further substance use.Depending on your progress, you may be transferred to the GPSI.
Pregnancy will be monitored throughout until 6 months after the birth, working with the maternity service at UHNS.
Our Community Teams
We have two teams providing ser-vices in the communities of
New-castle and Staffordshire Moor-lands, and an alcohol
detoxifica-tion service in Stoke-on-Trent.
Newcastle and
Moorlands
Community Addiction
Teams
Each team is made up of experi-enced Community Mental Health Nurses (CMHN) and other profes-sionals.
We work with people experiencing difficulties as a result of either al-cohol or drug use. We use the word ‘drug’ to refer to prescribed medication such as painkillers and diazepam as well as illicit substanc-es such as heroin.
We offer advice, information and support and can assist in the treat-ment if you wish to detoxify.
You can talk to us to help you clarify the severity of your alcohol or substance use - or you may already recognise that you have a problem and want help.
When you have been referred to one of the teams, you will be given the opportunity to discuss your difficulties and plan a way forward. Our ser-vice is confidential and in-cludes help and support for concerned relatives or friends.
By referral to our service you will be given the opportunity to discuss your difficulties and plan a way forward, see page 5. We also would wish to pro-vide help/support for con-cerned relatives or friends.
To access this service you
need to be referred by
your GP, Probation
Work-er, Social WorkWork-er,
Addac-tion, or other Health
Pro-fessional.
You may be seen in your
GPs surgery or in one of
the clinics run by the
teams.
The Staffordshire
Moor-lands Team hold clinics in
Cheadle Hospital and GP
Surgeries in Biddulph and
Leek and can contact on
the following phone
num-ber.
Staffordshire
Moor-lands Team: 0300
123 1535
The Newcastle Team
hold clinics in Morston
House, Newcastle and
can be contacted on the
following phone
num-ber.
Newcastle Team:
01782 624890
Harplands Hospital includes the Edward Myers Unit (EMU) which provides our inpatient service for drug and alcohol misuse and our specialist outpatient clinics.
How to get referred
to Edward Myers Unit
The referral process for Edward Myers depends on where your GP practice is.
For people registered with GP’s in North Staffordshire you can be referred by your GP to the Community Addiction Services (see page 9) who will assess you and refer onto the Edward My-ers Unit for either inpatient or outpatient services as required. For people registered with GP’s in Stoke on Trent, you can get referred to the Edward Myers Unit via the community alcohol and drug services run by Adsis or CRI (see page 13) this service is only available for inpatient services offered by the Edward
Specialist Outpatient
Clinics
EMU outpatient clinics provide a structured approach to treatment for clients dependent on drugs or alcohol. You will see medical and nursing staff working together.
In addition to the clinic at EMU, we provide:
the Pregnant Drug Use (PDU) clinic run from the maternity unit at the University Hospital in conjunction with the ante-natal and midwifery team; The Drug Rehabilitation Re-quirement (DRR) run from Hanley Probation at Broom Street) with the probation officers.
Inpatient service
A clear plan of care will be de-veloped with you, involving your drug worker, community addiction nurse, or other pro-fessional, before you are placed on the ward waiting list or ad-mitted to the ward. This will help you to know what is hap-pening during your admission and be involved in the design of the follow-on discharge plan.
Before admission you be may able to visit the ward to help you prepare.
Through the early part of your admission the care team will see you to refine your plan to meet your needs. It will be dis-cussed and agreed with you. You will have access to, and copies of, the care plans as ap-propriate.
Named Nurse
You will be allocated a named nurse who will be responsible for your care while in hospital. If necessary, named nurses will liaise with and involve others in your care. They provide a link
named nurse will have regular contact with you to discuss any concerns which you might have.
Supportive Group Work
During your stay you will be ex-pected to participate in a number of group sessions, aimed at help-ing you maintain abstinence once you are discharged. Each weekday the physiotherapy de-partment provides an exercise ses-sion, either on the ward or in the physiotherapy department. It con-sists of gentle exercise and takes into consideration your physical ability.
Ward nursing staff run two groups a day lasting an hour each. The aim is for you to develop relapse prevention and relaxation tech-niques to help you to maintain a drug/alcohol-free lifestyle after you are discharged. We also offer complementary therapies such as relaxation and auricular acupunc-ture.
We offer education sessions, providing you with infor-mation on the effects of alcohol/ drug misuse. Outside agencies attend the ward regularly, giving you an idea of other services that are available.
In addition to the treatment
options, assessment carried out
by your nurse will include
discussion and advice on other
health related issues such as:
Healthy diet
Smoking
Sexual health
Hepatitis. Testing for
Hepatitis A, B and C can
be arranged. If required,
referral can be made by
your keyworker to a
specialist
Gastroenterologist for
further assessment and
treatment. Hepatitis B
vaccinations can also be
arranged by your
keyworker.
Referral back to GP if
general health needs
arise.
Contacts:
Aquarius Balwant House
Havelock Place, Stoke on Trent ST1 4PR
Tel: 01782 283113
ADSIS
2 Hargreaves Road,
Dyson Way, Stafford, ST18 0WN
Telephone 08445617079
CRI
Canal Side, 3 Canal Arm, Festival Park, Stoke on Trent, ST1 5UR Telephone: 01782 212800
Alcoholics Anonymous
Trinity Exchange, March Street South, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 1JF
Tel: 01782 266366
The BAC O’Connor Centre 35 Clayton Road Newcastle-under-Lyme ST5 3AF Tel: 01782 615590 Addaction Unit 7 Fellgate Court Froghall
Newcastle Under Lyme ST5 2UA Tel: 01782 637658 ADS 18 Martin Street Stafford ST16 2LG Telephone: 01785 270080
Health promotion
We’re here to help
All our substance misuse services staff are expected to listen and respond to your questions, sug-gestions, comments and con-cerns. Talk to any of our staff and they will help you or intro-duce you to a colleague who can.
Service User Group
There is a Service User Group which takes place on a weekly basis at EMC which is available for all clients who have used Combined Healthcare Substance Misuse Services.
There is a Carer Group Meeting which takes place every 2 weeks at EMC which is available for carers/relatives of service users who wish to access support. If you are not satisfied with
their response, or prefer to speak to someone independent of our substance misuse services, you can phone or text our PALS and Complaints team.
How to contact our
PALS & Complaints
team
PALS and Complaints team members will be happy to help you with a concern, a question, help with a problem or listen to your comments.
If you have a complaint that you want investigated, our Com-plaints staff will take this up with you. PALS & Complaints literature should be available from our addiction service staff - please ask them for a copy. The PALS & Complaints free-phone number is 0800 389 9676
or text07841 730 821.
You will receive a response dur-ing office hours
14 15
Supporting
you in
your
recovery -
How to
contact
our services
Community Teams
Staffordshire Moorlands team: Eaton House Buxton Road Leek ST13 6EG
0300 123 1535 ext 2035
Newcastle team: Silverdale Surgery Vale Pleasant Silverdale Newcastle ST5 6PS01782 624890
Edward Myers Unit
Harplands Hospital Hilton Road Harpfields Stoke-on-Trent ST4 6THOut-patient clinics
01782 441713
Inpatient Unit
01782 441715
You can also speak to your GP, who can refer you to our services.
Frank is a national phone help-line about drugs. Ring FRANK anytime and speak to a friendly adviser who's professionally trained to give you straight up, unbiased information about drugs.
Remember it’s totally confiden-tial – we won't ask for your name or repeat your conversa-tion with others.
Just call this number for free
:
0800 77 66 00
"Don’t feel embarrassed, we’ve heard it all before.
We’re here to listen to you and help you with
anything you want to talk about" Quote from a FRANK
adviser.
Talk to Frank website
www.talktofrank.com
This can help with your ques-tions and concerns about sub-stances. In addition to an A-Z of drugs information, you can use the site to email Frank.
The reply will come from
the subject line won't have your question in it.
If you're worried about some-one reading your emails, you can always set up a special email account with someone like Yahoo, Hotmail or Lycos. FRANK will only ever reply to your email. You'll never receive an email you didn't ask for.
Text FRANK anytime with a question about drugs and you’ll soon get an answer you can trust. And remember, it’s total-ly confidential.
Text 82111 to ask FRANK
your question.
The cost of sending a text to FRANK is the same as a standard text message - which will de-pend on your network tariff. There is no charge for receiving text messages from FRANK.
North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, 2011
Working to improve
the health and wellbeing of the local communities
