Minutes:
The Committee received a presentation in relation to Substance Misuse.
Officers informed Members that the current
Substance Misuse Strategy was set by the Welsh Government (WG) and covered the
years 2008 to 2018. Officers reported that it was not clear when a new strategy
would be published. Officers explained that the current strategy focused on
four action areas which included preventing harm, support for substance misuse
to improve their health aid and maintain recovery, supporting and protecting
families, and tackling availability and protecting individuals and communities
via enforcement activities.
Officers reported that the Community Safety
Partnership had the statutory responsibility for the local substance misuse
strategy, but the Western Bay Area Planning Board (APB) had been created to
fulfil these responsibilities at a regional level. Officers stated that as such
the APB was created in 2010 by the WG, and was responsible for delivering the
“Working Together to Reduce Harm” strategy, and worked at a regional level
across Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot and Swansea local authority areas. Officers
informed Members that partners of the APB included Abertawe
Bro Morgannwg University Health Board (ABMU), the
three local authorities, Public Health Wales, South Wales Police and the
Probation Trust. Officers explained that
the APB did not have any decision making powers and could only make
recommendations. Officers stated that the APB was Local Authority and Health
Board led, and governance arrangements were due to be reviewed.
Officers informed Members that the APB
received £3.6 million Substance Misuse Action Funding (SMAF) from WG, and a
£721,000 joint contribution from the three local authorities and ABMU,
resulting in an annual revenue budget of £4.3 million. Officers reported that the SMAF had been
protected but had not been increased.
Officers commented on the statistics
surrounding substance misuse, and stated that the age bracket which experienced
the highest number of referrals were those aged between 31 and 50 years old.
Officers explained that further work would be required to attempt to understand
the reason behind the statistics for this age category.
Officers reported that the highest referral
source was now self-referrals, and that there had been a large decline in GP
referrals. Officers commented that the majority of service users in the Neath
Port Talbot area were male, but in recent years the number of female service
users had increased. Officers mentioned that alcohol was the primary dependency
in Neath Port Talbot followed by heroin and then cannabis. Officers reported
that there were 296 drug recorded crimes in Neath and
Port Talbot in 2016-17, and 251 in 2017-18. Officers informed Members that work
was currently being undertaken by the Community Safety Team to identify hot
spots for instances of substance misuse in the county borough.
Officers informed Members that there were a
number of services in Neath Port Talbot that provided support to individuals
such as the Welsh Centre for Action on Dependency & Addiction (WGCADA),
Community Drug and Alcohol Team in Tonna Hospital,
Detox Ward Calon Lan in
Neath Port Talbot Hospital, and NPT Forum. Officers reported that support
service providers found that clients often had other health problems and
vulnerabilities in addition to substance misuse issues, and required access to
dental treatment, counselling and therapy, and prescribing services.
Officers explained that regular involvement
with service users was an ongoing priority and provided the opportunity to try
and engage with hard to reach service users regarding issues such as drug
related litter.
Officers updated the Committee on the
integrated model called Newid, which the APB were
developing to ensure that various services worked together to provide a
holistic treatment package tailored to the needs of each individual client.
Officers stated that clients were allocated a key worker from a lead agency who
would co-ordinate their care plan, and could provide them with access to a
range of services provided by various agencies. Officers explained that AADAS
was the first point of contact service for clients. Officers stated that
clients were able to turn up to various venues at certain times without an
appointment. Officers explained that following an assessment clients were then
referred to the relevant support service and that whilst waiting for
prescribing services, clients could access services like therapy and
counselling in the meantime. Officers stated that the rate of clients that did
not attend after initial assessment was a concern, and that this was currently
being reviewed to determine the reason why. Officers informed Members that
provider services were available in the town centres, and that WGCADA and CDAT
operated satellite bases.
Officers reported that the APB held a
development event on the 9th February and following feedback there
were areas which were highlighted for improvement. Officers explained that the
governance arrangements and priorities needed to be clearer, and that important
links had been lost. Officers informed Members that as a result a governance
review was currently being undertaken, and that three immediate priorities had
been identified for the APB which were; drug related deaths, dual diagnosis and
Minimum Unit Pricing for Alcohol.
Officers reported that Neath Port Talbot had the highest rate of drug related deaths per 100,000
population by Local Authority in Wales, and between
2014 and 2016 had the second highest mortality rate in the UK. Officers added
that Neath Port Talbot was reported as one of the top ten worst places in Wales
and England for heroin deaths.
Officers informed Members that the WG were keen to see an improvement in
the co-ordination of services for dual diagnosis, which dealt with clients with
co-occurring mental health and substance misuse problems. Officers cited research that indicated that
those with drug use problems and mental health issues were less likely to engage
with support services, and more likely to fall through the gaps between the two
services. Officers added that a working group had been set up to look at the
communication and working relationship between drug misuse and mental health
services.
Officers re-iterated that alcohol dependency was the biggest issue in the
Western Bay area, and across Wales. Officers reported that the new Minimum Unit
Pricing legislation had been laid before the National Assembly for Wales in
October 2017 in order to address the issue. Officers informed Members that the
WG had stated that there were clear links between excessive and hazardous
drinking and the availability of cheap alcohol.
Officers stated that the next steps for the APB were;
·
to improve the evidence base around drug
related deaths by analysing the data from the local authorities and the Office
of National Statistics in further detail, and to improve the way that
information was recorded in order to identify trends
·
to regularise contracts and make service
improvements;
·
to undertake a governance review;
·
to reduce drug related deaths;
·
to improve access to dual diagnosis services,
and improve access to services generally
·
to continue to improve links with the
Community Safety Partnership and to ensure that there is an emphasis on
treatment, prevention, education and enforcement;
·
to prepare for MUP and to understand the implications.
Members referred to the statistics in the presentation where Neath Port
Talbot was named the second highest local authority area in the United Kingdom
between 2014 and 2016 for drug related deaths, and queried whether this
statistic was for heroin alone or drugs in general. Officers confirmed that the
statistic was drug misuse in general, not specifically heroin.
Members commented that the electoral division of Aberavon in particular
was experiencing a lot of drug litter, in particular used needles. Members
stated that the area had very little recreation facilities and green spaces,
and queried whether there could be a correlation between the two issues.
Officers stated that they were unable to comment on the potential link between
the lack of recreational facilities and high levels of drug misuse, and
commented that it was a subject for wider debate and required evidence to
support this. Officers explained that work was currently being undertaken to
identify the “hot spot” areas for drug related litter with the intention of
targeted intervention where possible in partnership with local agencies.
Officers stated that any cases of drug littering should be reported to the Environment
Directorate for clearing. Officers informed Members that information on what to
do and who to contact when drug litter was discovered needed to be easily
accessible to citizens, and that the Council’s web pages needed to be updated
to reflect this. Officers added that a task and finish group had been set up
and was in the process of developing an action plan to address this issue.
Officers reiterated the importance of reporting any instances of drug
littering, and stated that they would circulate the contact details to Members
after the meeting.
Members commented that it was important that all statutory partners
worked together to deal with the issue of substance misuse.
Following scrutiny, it was agreed that the presentation be noted.