New National Statistics Reveal More Drug Addicts In Treatment - And They Are Staying The Course, UK

Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Article Date: 07 Oct 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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Figures published today by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) show that more than 202,000 people were recorded in drug treatment for 2007/08, which over-achieves the target set by the government.

More than 82,000 people started treatment in 2007/08, of whom more than 64,000 (78 per cent) remained in structured treatment for 12 weeks, thus ensuring treatment was likely to be more effective in the long term.

The number of people completing treatment successfully in 2007/08 has increased to more than 35,000 (51 per cent of all those discharged) compared to 27,500 (42 per cent) in 2006/07.

These results mark a watershed in drug treatment in England . The key tasks set out in the last drug strategy and contained within the Public Service Agreement (PSA) for drug treatment have been achieved in 2007/08.

The new drug strategy launched in February this year puts drug treatment at its heart, and with a wider social purpose to reintegrate drug users into society, particularly through work but also through a new emphasis on families.

The new PSA target for drug treatment for 2011 is to increase the numbers in effective treatment by three per cent. This will be measured by the proportion of problem drug users in treatment for 12 weeks or more - the point at which treatment is likely to be effective in the long term - or having successfully completed treatment.

Most drug users benefit from being in treatment and the community benefits also: treatment stabilises lives, results in fewer crimes and reduces health risks to individuals, families and communities.

"Treatment services in England are continuing to achieve excellent results for individuals as well as communities," says NTA chief executive, Paul Hayes . "In the year ahead, all of us in the field face the challenge to focus our efforts on the outcome of treatment, to enable more addicts to become drug-free. The treatment sector as a whole, and the NTA as an organisation, must again raise our game, ensuring our staff are skilled enough, our resources are allocated appropriately, and that we better communicate what we are doing to the public.

"In the NTA's Annual Report for 2007/08, I outline how the treatment system needs to be ambitious for those using services, and we need to foster that ambition in them. Most users do not want to be in treatment for the rest of their lives. They see treatment as a means to help them overcome addiction and gain control of their lives. The NTA's role is to help services to enable that process, and support users to leave treatment safely, free of dependency."

In total, more than 190,000 people either completed treatment successfully or stayed in treatment long enough for them and the community to benefit, while only just over 12,000 people dropped out of treatment; fewer than in previous years.

However, when recording drug treatment success it has been identified that treatment services have used a variety of interpretations on how they code the success of individuals completing and leaving the treatment system. It is clear that a more robust coding system is needed.

With agreement from the Minister of State for Public Health, Dawn Primarolo, a new coding system will begin from April 2009 which will ensure all services return data to the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) in the same way. This will define treatment completed 'drug free' as: no longer using heroin and crack cocaine, or any other drugs for which treatment is being received.

At the end of 2007/08, over 133,000 people (66 per cent of those in treatment in the year) were retained in treatment on 31 March, the same proportion as in 2006/07. This is a positive benefit given the chronic relapsing condition of problem substance misuse.

Notes

The NTA was set up by the Government in 2001 to improve the availability, capacity and effectiveness of treatment for drug misuse in England .

The NDTMS was introduced from April 2001 and collects data on drug users presenting for treatment as well as those in treatment. The NDTMS is a key source of information for monitoring the numbers in treatment for the Government's drug strategy.

The national Public Service Agreement (PSA) for drug treatment to 2008 is to: "Increase the participation of problem drug users in drug treatment programmes by 100 per cent by 2008, over a 1998 baseline, and increase year on year the proportion of users successfully sustaining or completing treatment programmes."

The most frequently reported main drugs of misuse by adult clients remain consistent, proportionally:

- Heroin - 66 per cent (122,749)
- Crack - 6 per cent (10,826)
- Cocaine - 6 per cent (11,752)
- Methadone or other opiates - 8 per cent (15,501)
- Cannabis - 7 per cent (13,422)

The most frequently reported main drugs of misuse by clients under 18:

- Cannabis - 78 per cent (12,865)
- Heroin or other opiates - 5 per cent (831)
- Crack - 1 per cent (168)
- Cocaine - 5 per cent (861)

The proportion of under-18s in treatment for cannabis as primary drug of misuse has risen three per cent on 2006/07. But the proportion in treatment for heroin as primary drug has fallen 15 per cent since 2003/04.

The total number of under-18s (age calculated at first presentation to treatment) in contact with structured substance misuse treatment for primary drug problems (who may also have alcohol as another problem substance) in 2007/08 is 16,482 (8 per cent of the total treatment population in England ). A further 9,000 under-18s with primary alcohol problems, who are not counted in the total 202,000 treatment population of 2007/08 also make up more than 25,000 under-18s in treatment during the year. A more detailed report of young peoples' treatment will be published later this year.

The proportion of the drug treatment population who are 25 years and under has dropped by 7 per cent, from 32 per cent to 25 per cent since 2000/01.

These statistics are collated by the National Drug Evidence Centre at Manchester University from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System.

The new ten year drug strategy (2008 - 2018) aims to restrict the supply of illegal drugs and reduce the demand for them. It focuses on protecting families and strengthening communities.

The 149 Drug Action Partnerships (commonly known as DATs) in England (one for every local authority area) are responsible for identifying local needs and using central government and locally resourced funding to commission or purchase drug treatment to meet those needs

Supporting information is available on the NTA website here.

National Treatment Agency