Addiction charity wants to be able to help more
ALMOST two-thirds of islanders referred to In-dependence – the Guernsey charity that supports those affected by drugs, alcohol and gambling – are successfully completing their treatment.
The charity published its annual report for 2022 this week and manager Tracey Rear said the results were encouraging.
‘65% of clients who completed a piece of work with us – either recovery work or therapy – experienced change.
‘This figure is consistent with the previous year’s data and demonstrates we are making a difference in the lives of those we work with,' she said.
Last year marked the start of a new five-year contract between the charity and the Health Improvement Commission for it to deliver treatment under the States’ drug and alcohol strategy.
Mrs Rear said that addictive behaviour rarely occurred in a vacuum, but rather formed part of a more complex narrative that needed to be understood and considered.
‘Such understanding is essential as we work with clients to promote change,’ she said.
There were 200 referrals to the charity in 2022, a reduction of 27 from the year before.
Mrs Rear said this was mainly down to the charity no longer providing assistance to the prison, a decision taken in 2021, due to the difficulty of providing support to staff working remotely there.
The charity also works alongside the Probation Service in a partnership called the Criminal Justice Substance Service.
The primary aim is to provide the courts, prison, and the parole board with the facilities necessary to enable them to impose treatment for drug and alcohol users as a condition of supervision.
The number of referrals for 2022 increased by 20 to 48.
Mrs Rear believed there were still things that the charity could improve on in 2023.
‘Increasing the visibility of In-dependence and the services provided is a priority.
'We want people to understand help is available if they need it.’
The charity only saw 11 gambling referrals in 2022, and although still a relatively small number, it was double the previous year’s total.
The report identified that gambling addiction was not an insignificant problem.
During 2022 In-dependence carried out a gambling survey locally.
Just over 100 people took part, with the vast majority of those respondents saying they spent up to £50 a week, but 3% spending more than £200 on gambling.
‘The low visibility [of the charity] may contribute to the low number of gambling referrals, although we cannot be sure of this,’ said Mrs Rear.
‘We will continue to promote our service for gamblers and hope to explore opportunities that may help us to better understand the extent and nature of problem gambling behaviours.’
Key points from the annual report
. Alcohol remained the primary substance for which people sought help, with 139 referrals.
. Cannabis referrals declined, with only four in 2022.
. Opioid use was consistent with 2021, with seven referrals.
. The number of people seeking help in relation to another person’s use of substances or gambling also remained consistent, with 11 referrals.
. The charity uses a measure called Core to gauge the success of treatments, with 37 of the 71 clients who completed treatment seen to show an improvement.
. Changes in levels of alcohol are measured using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. There were 30 audit outcomes during 2022.
. At the start of treatment, 24 of 30 participants reported to be ‘high risk’ drinkers. By the end of treatment, 13 of these were low risk. Six remained ‘risky’ or ‘harmful’, but had shown improvement. Only five saw no significant change.
. The number of CJSS referrals increased from 28 in 2021 to 48, with 23 of these granted an order by the court/parole review committee.
. There were 20 successful completions, where a client reached the end of an order without being breached for returning to drug or alcohol use, eight breaches related to drug or alcohol use, and one breach was not related to substance use.
