Industry news – W/C 08/08/2022
Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce Final Report: ‘Changing Lives’
The Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce released their final report, ‘Changing Lives’. The report sets out recommendations and actions to help support a reduction in drug-related deaths and harms, based on evidence built over the last three years. DRNS welcomes these recommendations and is eager to review the associated evidence paper to learn more on the essential research underpinning the evidence base. Access the final report here.
An annex to the final report includes another report developed by the Taskforce Family Reference Group which outlines a number of key changes that families would like to see. This report can be accessed here.
The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care
This blog explores the recently published Independent Review of Children’s Social Care for parents who use drugs and their children who are in kinship, foster and residential care. Dr Polly Radcliffe focuses on the proposals to invest in multidisciplinary Family Help which include substance use specialists working with child protection workers. Read the blog here.
MAT Standards: New website
A new website has been developed, hosted by the Scottish Drugs Forum, detailing the work and ongoing implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards. The new website will serve as a national resource for information and resources on MAT; Scotland’s MAT Standards and implementation of the Standards across Scotland. Visit the new site here.
AFINet Webinar: Family resilience in caring for drug addiction in Indonesia
The AFINet webinar series will continue on the 16th August 2022, 12:30pm with an overview of the situation related to problematic use of drugs, alcohol and gambling in Indonesia, and the resources available for affected family members. Dr Ira Kusumawaty will describe a qualitative phenomenological research study of mothers, caring for teenage children with drug problems. Register for the session here.
SDF Conference: Driving Change
On the 31st August 2022, the Scottish Drugs Forum will mark International Overdose Awareness Day with their first face-to-face live conference since Covid-19. Held in Glasgow, the event ‘Driving Change: Improving policy and practice to prevent drug deaths’ will explore policy and practice innovation and discussions will feature on drug death prevention including international perspectives, emergency service response, and the important role of living experience perspectives.
Tickets will cost £65 for SDF members and £80 for non-members. More information and registration can be accessed here.
AFINet International Conference 2022
AFINet are hosting their 3rd International Conference between 29th & 30th September 2022. The event, taking place online, will include a programme of presentations and discussions on policy, practice and research. Presentations include:
- ‘The power of Family Member lived experience stories in understanding gambling addiction’
- ‘I Am Not Alone: A short film produced by a Scottish young person’s group
- ‘Why would we not want to keep everybody safe? The vies of Affected Family Members on the use of Drug Consumption Rooms
- What Affected Family Members of drug dependent patients think about shared care; and what the professionals said about AFMs, and what primary care offered the AFMs.
To register for the event, and to find out information on how to submit an abstract visit the AFINet website here.
NHS Addictions Provider Alliance: 2022 Annual Conference
The NHS Addictions Provider Alliance is hosting its free online Conference on 8th November 2022. The Conference aims to build upon the success of the ‘Stigma Kills’ campaign to put strategies for tackling stigma into action. The day will include a range of speakers from clinical professionals, third sector leaders and people who have lived experience of stigma. Topics include:
- How we can challenge and reduce the impact of stigma in services and in society
- How we can educate ourselves and others on issues related to stigma
- The impact of stigmatising language on people living with addiction, and how we can address it
For more information and to register visit: https://www.nhsapa.org/conference-2022
Addiction and Substance Use in a Range of Contexts
This short course offered by Robert Gordon University will be beneficial for individuals who are keen to broaden their understanding of substance use. The course encourages application of understanding of practice in order to improve experiences of substance use issues. Course content includes:
- Contemporary substance use policy and legislation
- Psychological trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and the principles of trauma-informed care in relation to working with people with substance use issues
- The importance and influence of cultures and practices on the experiences and outcomes of people who use drugs and their families and carers
- Assessment methods and interventions
- Strategies for addressing professional, ethical and legal challenges relating to substance use
The closing date for applications is 7th September 2022. More information here.
Participants wanted: ‘See Beyond. See the Lives. Scotland’
Researchers at the University of Stirling are looking for people to participate in an anti-stigma campaign. The campaign aims to tackle stigma of substance use by showing the family experience of grief and loss connected to substance use and ‘see the lives’ beyond the numbers and statistics. The project will involve writing a short letter to a loved one and then creating a film. In order to take part you must:
- Live in Scotland
- Aged over 18 years
- Affected by the death of a family member or close friend as a result of alcohol use
- Willing to participate in the project by writing a letter, being filmed and having the letter and film feature on the project website
The team are aiming to complete the filming between 26th August and 3rd September at the University of Stirling. If you are interested and would like to find out more, access further information here.
