Project
Bolton Redesigned Alcohol Treatment System
Description:
In working towards meeting Local Area Agreement commitments, Bolton PCT and Bolton Council responded to issues identified with the lack of integration and efficiency of local alcohol services by restructuring the area's Alcohol Treatment System in 2007.
The Bolton Alcohol Strategy, drawn up in partnership between the council, primary care trust and police, in 2006 highlighted treatment as one of the keys to tackling the problem. The partners commissioned Alcohol Concern to carry out a review of the local treatment programmes – delivered by the charity Addiction Dependency Solutions (ADS) and the joint Bolton Council and Bolton, Salford and Trafford Mental Health Trust’s Community Alcohol Team (CAT).
ADS had tended to concentrate on the less severe cases, offering counselling and motivational support, while CAT was geared towards the dependent drinkers. But, as Alcohol Concern found, the remits were not well defined. The two programmes did not have a close working relationship and, as a result, the patient pathway was far from seamless or efficient. The result was that people needing support from CAT were facing a five-month waiting list in 2006.
Alcohol Concern advised the partners to clearly define the roles of each service provider in a bid to improve care and make the service more efficient. A process of stakeholder and service user engagement ensued which led to the redesign of the alcohol treatment system to the following pathway:
- A single point of entry into alcohol treatment and care run by ADS in tier 2
- Only clients referred to the CAT either by a doctor for a specific medical intervention such as detoxification or because they are pregnant can bypass the triage
- ADS will offer brief interventions, plus up to four sessions of one to one follow up
- Following these interventions clients can move into ADS’s programme of support/aftercare focused group work
- Clients with more complex needs will be referred to the CAT for a comprehensive assessment
- The CAT will offer community detoxification, a time limited programme of group work and counselling
- All clients requiring tier 4 will be referred via the CAT who will assess and care manage clients in residential rehabilitation
- On completion of tier 3 and 4 interventions clients can be referred back to ADS for a programme of support/aftercare focused group work.
Project status: Complete
Project type: Research Projects
Project code: V3FO
