Equality impact assessment - Adult drug treatment plan

Please tell us what you think about our website, we welcome your feedback.

Customer notice

Due to essential maintenance some of our web services will be unavailable between these times 7pm Friday 25 May and 5pm Sunday 27 May 2012.

1. What is the name of the policy or service that is being assessed?

Wiltshire Community Safety Partnership (WCSP) – Adult Drug Treatment Plan.

The Adult Drug Treatment Plan is completed on a yearly basis by the Substance Misuse Commissioning Team and is informed by the WCSP Adult Drug Treatment Needs Assessment.

2. What are the aims of the policy or service? Whose needs is it designed to meet? What are the current priorities?

The Adult Drug Treatment Plan identifies a range of aims and objectives to support the effective delivery of drug treatment services, based upon identified need across Wiltshire.

Key priorities and objectives for adult drug treatment in Wiltshire are to deliver a range of services which focus on ‘recovery’. These include substitute prescribing, harm reduction, motivational interventions, shared care, minimised waiting times and engaging more people in effective treatment.

The aims and objectives for adult drug treatment in Wiltshire also align to a number of LAA and wider Partnership agency priorities; this includes specific treatment requirements and targets from the National Treatment Agency (NTA).

3. In what ways might this policy or service affect some groups of people differently? Might some groups find it harder to access the service? Do some groups have particular needs that are not well met by the current policy or service?

The Adult Drug Treatment Plan aims to reduce the drug related harms of all sections of the population in Wiltshire. Resources are specifically available for diverse groups including the provision of Interpreters.

Treatment provider agencies will accommodate service users with diverse needs such as disability through use of appropriate support such as home visits. All treatment provider agencies seek to meet the needs of male and female service users equally and some provider agencies are able to make additional provision such as women only support and visits to child care groups.

It is acknowledged members of some vulnerable groups may find it more difficult to access drug treatment services for example due to transport needs and cultural considerations regarding drug and alcohol use/misuse.  

To explore and address diversity issues, the Substance Misuse Commissioning Team has a diversity lead and holds regular diversity meetings with key stakeholders, treatment providers and service users; this includes regular contact with Wiltshire Council’s Equalities Team. A Service User and Carer Involvement Coordinator is also employed.

4. What evidence do you have for your judgement? Is there evidence of public concern (e.g. complaints)? Have staff raised concerns? Is there local and national research to suggest there could be a problem?

The Wiltshire Adult Drug Treatment Needs Assessment identifies specific treatment needs, which includes reference to BME population statistics for example. National drug treatment monitoring statistics (NDTMS) are also utilised to identify trends and consequent need within the overall treatment system.

A formal complaints procedure is in place and no diversity issues have been raised to date.

5. Who have you consulted with as part of your assessment? What were the results? Have you published the results of that consultation? If so, where?

Service user and carer representation is available at all strategic level meetings in relation to the commissioning of substance misuse treatment services.

Consultation via ‘expert groups’ involving representatives from key stakeholders including partner agencies and treatment service providers, service users and carers is undertaken each year as part of the 'Adult Drug Treatment Needs Assessment and Drug Treatment Plan' development.

Additional information is also drawn from:

• Wiltshire based surveys such as People’s Voice and Carers’ Voice
• NHS Wiltshire
• HMP Erlestoke

The Adult Drug Treatment Plan is published via the National Treatment Agency (NTA) website.

6. If you have found that the policy of service might have an adverse impact on a particular group of people, can you justify this?

As stated above, the Substance Misuse Commissioning Team work in partnership with key stakeholders to reduce and minimise any adverse impact upon service users including diverse communities.

Whilst every effort is made to positively engage service users with treatment  services, all treatment provider agencies have internal policies regarding staff and service user safety and behaviour requirements.

7. If the impact cannot be justified, what do you intend to do about this? Are there changes that you could introduce which would make the policy or service work better for this group of people? Is further research or consultation required?

• Not applicable – see above information.
• The Substance Misuse Commissioning Team continues to make links with relevant diverse community groups in order to publicise and raise awareness of treatment services and associated issues.

8. How will you monitor the take-up or impact of the policy or service in the future?

The Substance Misuse Commissioning Team coordinates a range of performance management processes including:

• Regular reviews with provider agencies which include service user and carer representation
• Contracts monitoring in accordance with SLAs
• Audits e.g. Care Plans
• Ongoing monitoring of NTA/NDTMS statistical data which records service user gender, age, and ethnicity information
• Service user feedback

9. What actions do you plan to take as a result of this equality impact assessment? Please state any resource implications

• Attendance at relevant training events with Wiltshire Council’s Equalities Team
• Regular review of equality impact assessments undertaken

10. There is a legal requirement to publish the outcomes of Equality Impact Assessments. Please outline how/where this will happen

• Via the Wiltshire Council website

11. Name of person completing form

• Commissioning Officer – Alcohol Misuse - 21 October 2010

12. Senior manager approval

• Interim Head of Commissioning – Mental Health and Substance Misuse - 28 October 2010

Last updated: 25 January 2011