‘We’re at a pivotal point… there’s a lot to do.’
The vice chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners says that addiction involves many complex problems and ‘the solutions won’t come from medicine alone’. She was speaking at the RCGP’s joint conference with Addiction Professionals (AP) and throughout two days there was animated discussion about addressing all the other things going on in a person’s life – the things that profoundly influence health.
We’re at a pivotal point. Prof Dame Carol Black tells us that we need to make our case for why a boost in funding has not had the desired impact on drug-related deaths. We have the evidence to fight for more funding – synthetic opioids are flooding the market, prison aftercare is under-resourced and inadequate, alcohol strategy is in its infancy, mental health and addiction services are not working in harmony as they should be, vital specialisms are draining away when they’re more needed that ever, the workforce is demoralised… to say there’s a lot to do is an understatement.
So I’ll point you in the direction of inspirational initiatives on every page of this month’s issue and urge you to get involved. Feedback to your DDN community about what’s working well – and share your challenges.
Read the March issue as an online magazine (you can also download it as a PDF from the online magazine)
