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04/06/2004
Top drugs treatment doctor visits Belfast
Scotland’s leading NHS provider for specialized inpatient treatment of drug and alcohol dependence has addressed a special meeting of Belfast City Council’s All-Party Working Group against Drugs Misuse.
Dr Margaret Ann McCann, medical director of Castle Craig hospital, talked about her 20 years experience directing inpatient treatment programmes during the conference in Belfast.
Dr McCann, who is from Northern Ireland, pointed towards the growing drug problem in the province saying that the case for intensive residential treatment must be viewed in context of recent statistics and strategic reports.
“The growing number of notified addicts, the daily reports of drug seizures, the rise in cocaine use and the huge burden of alcohol abuse - which, directly and indirectly, costs Northern Ireland £777 million - emphasizes the importance of ensuring provision for patients with more complex needs and access to appropriate intensive specialized care for those with more severe dependence,” she told the All-Party Working Group.
“This growing demand also accelerates the need to deliver effective and cost-effective treatment programmes. Recent research from Stanford University concluded that graduates from 12-Step orientated programmes slice their healthcare costs by more than half by turning to community based self-help groups rather than to professional mental health services for support in the year after discharge.”
Speaking about how Castle Craig can help to meet any important gaps in service provision, Dr McCann added that there are times when it might be appropriate to refer patients outside Northern Ireland.
“This could be to assist with a major delay in admission to a local unit or individual cases where a high degree of sensitivity may be required in the management of care. Our recent study of the treatment of Dutch addicts in Scotland proves that travelling by plane across a country border is no hindrance to a good outcome.”
Viewing addiction as a disease, Castle Craig hospital uses an established treatment model, usually referred to as the Minnesota Model, which adopts the goal of abstinence and integrates the 12-step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous as a way of recovery from chemical dependency.
Councillor Eric Smyth, Chairman of Belfast City Council’s All-Party Working Group against Drugs Misuse, said drug addiction was becoming a disease in Northern Ireland in the same way as alcoholism, and therefore the treatment of drug addicts with the same methods used to treat alcoholics and other addicts made perfect sense.
(MB)
Dr Margaret Ann McCann, medical director of Castle Craig hospital, talked about her 20 years experience directing inpatient treatment programmes during the conference in Belfast.
Dr McCann, who is from Northern Ireland, pointed towards the growing drug problem in the province saying that the case for intensive residential treatment must be viewed in context of recent statistics and strategic reports.
“The growing number of notified addicts, the daily reports of drug seizures, the rise in cocaine use and the huge burden of alcohol abuse - which, directly and indirectly, costs Northern Ireland £777 million - emphasizes the importance of ensuring provision for patients with more complex needs and access to appropriate intensive specialized care for those with more severe dependence,” she told the All-Party Working Group.
“This growing demand also accelerates the need to deliver effective and cost-effective treatment programmes. Recent research from Stanford University concluded that graduates from 12-Step orientated programmes slice their healthcare costs by more than half by turning to community based self-help groups rather than to professional mental health services for support in the year after discharge.”
Speaking about how Castle Craig can help to meet any important gaps in service provision, Dr McCann added that there are times when it might be appropriate to refer patients outside Northern Ireland.
“This could be to assist with a major delay in admission to a local unit or individual cases where a high degree of sensitivity may be required in the management of care. Our recent study of the treatment of Dutch addicts in Scotland proves that travelling by plane across a country border is no hindrance to a good outcome.”
Viewing addiction as a disease, Castle Craig hospital uses an established treatment model, usually referred to as the Minnesota Model, which adopts the goal of abstinence and integrates the 12-step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous as a way of recovery from chemical dependency.
Councillor Eric Smyth, Chairman of Belfast City Council’s All-Party Working Group against Drugs Misuse, said drug addiction was becoming a disease in Northern Ireland in the same way as alcoholism, and therefore the treatment of drug addicts with the same methods used to treat alcoholics and other addicts made perfect sense.
(MB)
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