Addiction services unlikely to hit target

Failure to meet targets for getting people into addiction treatment could result in financial penalties

A city's drugs and alcohol services are failing to get enough addicts into treatment and could face financial penalties.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council received £9.5m in extra funding to expand addiction services over a three-year period from 2022.

Managers said it was "unlikely" that the Community Drug and Alcohol Service (CDAS) would hit its target of getting 1,927 addicts into treatment by the end of March.

A lack of referrals along with a national shortage of qualified drug workers were among the reasons given for the service being behind target.

Failure to hit the target could result in financial sanctions.

CDAS is a free service for adults, young people, and families, commissioned by the council.

There are currently 1,739 people in treatment.

Members of Stoke-on-Trent’s health and wellbeing board were told the process of setting up and launching the redesigned CDAS also had an impact.

Referral difficulties

"The tender process delayed some projects from starting... there were many things which couldn't be taken forward in this financial year," said senior commissioning manager Vicki Yates.

She added that the council was trying to increase the number of people in treatment.

"One of the areas that stands out is GP referrals," she said.

"Often we hear that practitioners don’t even know about the services, and couldn’t refer in even if they wanted to."

Council leader Jane Ashworth raised concerns over the lack of progress in reducing the number of people misusing substances in town centres.

"It’s very clear that the systems and practices that we’re using at the moment are not doing their job," she said.

Ms Yates said the council's rough sleeper drug and alcohol team aimed to be "proactive" in encouraging people to access treatment, but added it was a "difficult" task.