Senior councillors have agreed to seek a provider for an adult and young people’s alcohol and illicit drug misuse service, to deliver evidence-based harm reduction, treatment and recovery services in York.
York has a lower prevalence of drug misuse than many other parts of the country, but substance misuse remains a cause of harm to the health and wellbeing of York residents and an important cause of health inequalities. The impacts of substance misuse are felt across the population and the local evidence shows that investment in drug and alcohol services results in a significant return on investment in such services.
York invests in a range of open access and specialist services that enable people to access treatment and work towards recovery. Our priorities for the drug and alcohol treatment system are to improve recovery outcomes and ensure the treatment pathway meets the changing needs of the population of drug and alcohol users.
Councillor Carol Runciman, the Executive Member for Adult Social Care & Public Health said: “These services play a vital role promoting recovery and reducing the harm caused by drug and alcohol misuse – a cause of health inequalities in York. A new long-term contract that ensures responsive treatment and recovery services are available to York residents will align with resident’s long term health needs, giving the best possible value for money and provide a stable, supportive environment for service users.
“Importantly, we are taking the opportunity to address young people’s support too. Where young people’s substance misuse services are currently part of adult treatment services, the new contract will ensure there is a strong prevention model for the young people’s service, along with a treatment service.”
In addition to the contract, York will benefit over a 3 year period from funding through the national Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant, meaning drugs and alcohol treatment and recovery will be enhanced in York.
In line with City of York Council’s Contract Procedure Rules (agreed in May 2022) the Council is obliged to procure these services through a competitive process.
The new contract period will be determined following a process of market engagement with periodic reviews built in to provide an opportunity to ensure that performance related quality measures and delivery of key outcomes are being met, in addition to quarterly monitoring meetings.
City of York Council became responsible for commissioning substance misuse treatment services when responsibilities for public health functions were transferred to the Council in April 2013 and have commissioned the current service since 2017.
Rate of deaths (8.3 per 100,000) from drug misuse is sightly higher in York in comparison to national and regional rates.
York has a higher prevalence of admission episodes for alcohol-specific conditions (683 per 100,000) compared to regional and national figures.
The estimated rate of opiate users per thousand of the adult population is lower in York at 4.4 compared to national rate of 7.3.
Substance misuse treatment services are funded by the Department of Health local authority ring-fenced Public Health Grant Allocation. The Department of Health sets out a number of conditions for use of the public health grant and in 2015/16 attached a new condition which states that “a local authority must, in using the grant, have regard to the need to improve the take up of, and outcomes from its drug and alcohol misuse treatment services”.
Local authorities are required to submit performance monitoring reports on drug and alcohol misuse treatment outcomes as part of the Public Health Outcomes Framework.
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