Data and Analysis of the Quality Principles: Standard Expectations of Care
and Support in Alcohol and Drug – Survey Summary Results for
Aberdeenshire
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The Quality Principles: Standard Expectations of Care and Support in Alcohol
and Drug Services have been developed to ensure anyone looking to address their
problem drug and/or alcohol use receives high-quality treatment and support that
assists long term, sustained recovery and keeps them safe from harm.
The Principles are intended to ensure that those who are providing treatment, care,
rehabilitation, wider services and support for people recovering from problematic
drug and/or alcohol use, know what is expected of them and how to continually
improve the quality of the service they provide. They are also intended to ensure that
commissioners of services make certain that the quality of drug and alcohol
treatment and support services they commission are appropriate to meet the needs
and aspirations of the people they serve.
The Care Inspectorate, on behalf of the Scottish Government carried out an online
survey in January and February 2016 in order to find out what progress services are
making towards putting the Quality Principles into practice. One survey was directed
at service staff and the other at service users recovering from problematic drug
and/or alcohol use who are receiving treatment from services which provide their
care, rehabilitation, and wider services. We wanted to gather the views of both on
the eight Quality Principles.
Summary Report
This report consists of two sections, section one provides summary charts for the
service users responses and section two provides summary charts for the service
staff responses.
Each section is separated into sub-sections referring to a quality principle.
Many of the survey questions invited service users and staff to give a free text
answers. These are included in this report and have been read and considered by
the Care Inspectorate staff leading on this project.
Percentages presented in the charts are all rounded to the nearest integer and as
such, may not always sum to 100.
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Data and Analysis of The Quality Principles: Standard Expectations of Care
and Support in Alcohol and Drug Service User Survey
The survey was split into sections, with each section referring to a quality principle.
Section 1.1 – Quality principle 1: I should be able to quickly access the right drug or
alcohol service that keeps me safe and supports me throughout my recovery.
Section 1.2 – Quality principle 2: I should be offered high quality; evidence-informed
treatment, care and support interventions which reduce harm and empower me in
my recovery.
Section 1.3 – Quality principle 3: I should be supported by workers who have the
right attitudes, values, training and supervision throughout my recovery journey.
Section 1.4 – Quality principle 4: I should be involved in a full, strength-based
assessment that ensures the choice of recovery model and therapy is based on my
needs and aspirations.
Section 1.5 – Quality principle 5: I should have a recovery plan that is personcentred and addresses my broader health, care and social needs and maintains a
focus on my safety throughout my recovery journey.
Section 1.6 – Quality principle 6: I am involved in regular reviews of my recovery
plan to ensure it continues to meet my needs and aspirations.
Section 1.7 – Quality principle 7: I have the opportunity to be involved in the ongoing evaluation of the delivery of services at each stage of my recovery.
Section 1.8 – Quality principle 8: Services should be family inclusive as part of their
practice.
The survey was completed by 45 service users in Aberdeenshire, although not
everyone responded to every question. The responses received were from various
demographics which are outlined in Tables 1-4 in Appendix 1. Open comments from
service users are provided in Table 1 of Appendix 3.
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Quality principle 1: I should be able to quickly access the right drug or alcohol
service that keeps me safe and supports me throughout my recovery.
Note: 3 responses received to Q1.2b
Quality principle 2: I should be offered high quality; evidence-informed
treatment, care and support interventions which reduce harm and empower
me in my recovery.
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Quality principle 3: I should be supported by workers who have the right
attitudes, values, training and supervision throughout my recovery journey.
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Quality principle 4: I should be involved in a full, strength-based assessment
that ensures the choice of recovery model and therapy is based on my needs
and aspirations.
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Quality principle 5: I should have a recovery plan that is person-centred and
addresses my broader health, care and social needs and maintains a focus on
my safety throughout my recovery journey.
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Quality principle 6: I am involved in regular reviews of my recovery plan to
ensure it continues to meet my needs and aspirations.
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Quality principle 7: I have the opportunity to be involved in the on-going
evaluation of the delivery of services at each stage of my recovery.
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Quality principle 8: Services should be family inclusive as part of their
practice.
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Data and Analysis of The Quality Principles: Standard Expectations of Care
and Support in Alcohol and Drug Service Staff Survey
The staff survey was split into sections, with each section referring to a quality
principle or group of quality principles.
Section 2.1 – Quality principle 1: People accessing a service should be able to
quickly access the right drug or alcohol service that keeps them safe and supports
them throughout their recovery.
Section 2.2 – Quality principle 2: People accessing a service should be offered highquality; evidence-informed treatment, care and support interventions which reduce
harm and empower them in their recovery.
Section 2.3 – Quality principle 3: People accessing a service should be supported by
workers who have the right attitudes, values, training and supervision throughout
their recovery journey.
Section 2.5 – Quality principle 4: People accessing a service should be involved in a
full, strength-based assessment that ensures the choice of recovery model and
therapy is based on their needs and aspirations.
Section 2.6 – Quality principle 5: People accessing a service should have a recovery
plan that is person-centred and addresses their broader health, care and social
needs, and maintains a focus on their safety throughout their recovery journey.
Section 2.7 – Quality principle 6: People accessing a service should be involved in
regular reviews of their recovery plan to ensure it continues to meet their needs and
aspirations.
Section 2.8 – Quality principle 7: People accessing a service should have the
opportunity to be involved in the on-going evaluation of the delivery of services at
each stage of their recovery.
Section 2.9 – Quality principle 8: Services should be family inclusive as part of their
practice.
Section 2.10 – Quality principle 3: People accessing a service should be supported
by workers who have the right attitudes, values, training and supervision throughout
their recovery journey.
Section 2.11 – Quality principle 2: People accessing a service should be offered
high-quality; evidence-informed treatment, care and support interventions which
reduce harm and empower them in their recovery.
Section 2.12 – Quality principle 3 & 7: (3) People accessing a service should be
supported by workers who have the right attitudes, values, training and supervision
throughout their recovery journey; (7) People accessing a service should have the
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opportunity to be involved in an on-going evaluation of the delivery of services at
each stage of their recovery
The survey was completed by 27 staff members in Aberdeenshire, although not
everyone responded to every question. The responses received were from various
sectors which are outlined in Tables 1 in Appendix 2. All of the respondents said
they work directly with people who access the services. Open comments from
service staff are provided in Table 2 of Appendix 3.
.
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Quality principle 1: People accessing a service should be able to quickly
access the right drug or alcohol service that keeps them safe and supports
them throughout their recovery.
Note: 3 responses received to Q1.2b
Quality principle 2: People accessing a service should be offered high-quality;
evidence-informed treatment, care and support interventions which reduce
harm and empower them in their recovery.
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Quality principle 3: People accessing a service should be supported by
workers who have the right attitudes, values, training and supervision
throughout their recovery journey.
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Quality principle 3: Improving outcomes for individuals, families and
communities affected by problematic drug and alcohol use.
Quality principle 4: People accessing a service should be involved in a full,
strength-based assessment that ensures the choice of recovery model and
therapy is based on their needs and aspirations.
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Quality principle 5: People accessing a service should have a recovery plan
that is person-centred and addresses their broader health, care and social
needs, and maintains a focus on their safety throughout their recovery
journey.
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Quality principle 6: People accessing a service should be involved in regular
reviews of their recovery plan to ensure it continues to meet their needs and
aspirations.1
Quality principle 7: People accessing a service should have the opportunity to
be involved in the on-going evaluation of the delivery of services at each stage
of their recovery.
1
Q7.4 full text: Improving a person’s situation involves discussing areas in their life such as their aspirations for the future,
wider health needs, family, children, finances, education, employment and housing, and the services or supports which
could help them achieve these aspirations
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Quality principle 8: Services should be family inclusive as part of their
practice.
Quality principle 3: People accessing a service should be supported by
workers who have the right attitudes, values, training and supervision
throughout their recovery journey.
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Quality principle 2: People accessing a service should be offered high-quality;
evidence-informed treatment, care and support interventions which reduce
harm and empower them in their recovery.2
2
Q11.3 full text: We jointly plan and work well together to implement and embed the Quality Principles in our
service planning, design and delivery to improve the quality of our services.
Q11.6 full text: The distribution of resources between acute or specialist services, support services and
community-based support for recovery is clear and transparent.
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Quality principle 3 & 7: (3) People accessing a service should be supported by
workers who have the right attitudes, values, training and supervision
throughout their recovery journey; (7) People accessing a service should have
the opportunity to be involved in an on-going evaluation of the delivery of
services at each stage of their recovery
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Appendix 1
Table 1 Survey responses grouped by sex.
Sex
Male
Female
(blank)
Total
Count of
respondents
15
11
19
45
Table 2 Survey responses grouped by Age Band.
Age band
0-15
16-29
30-44
45-59
60-74
Unknown
Total
Count of
respondents
0
13
10
8
0
14
45
Table 3 Are you receiving the service to address:
Issue(s)
Alcohol issue only
Drug issue only
Both alcohol & drug issues
(blank)
Total
Count of
respondents
10
19
6
10
45
Table 4 Survey responses by Ethnic Group.
Count of
respondents
Ethnic Group
Any other White Ethnic Group
Arab, Arab Scottish or Arab British
Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British
Black, Black Scottish or Black British
Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British
Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Groups
Other Ethnic Group
Pakistani, Pakistani Scottish or Pakistani British
White Gypsy/Traveller
White Irish
White Other British
White Polish
White Scottish
(blank)
Total
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1
3
32
9
45
Appendix 2
Table 1 Survey responses grouped by sector.
Sector
Health service
Voluntary sector
Social Care / Social Work Service
Third sector
Other
Private sector
Total
Count of
respondents
10
2
9
4
2
0
27
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Appendix 3
Table 1: Service User Comments
Got in really quick.
I have always found the service very helpful and friendly.
I have had so much help in all ways; it has been very good
indeed.
Section 1.1 - Quality principle 1: I
should be able to quickly access
the right drug or alcohol service
that keeps me safe and supports
me throughout my recovery.
It's easier than before to get methadone.
Not sure what is meant by Quality Principle but if it's about the
service, I'm very satisfied with the service that both Turning Point
and Kessock provide.
On a waiting list approx. 10 years ago.
Service has been of great help to me.
Was offered to come to groups as soon as spoke to service and
also keep in touch when needed between seeing workers.
All written on contracts & signed.
Feel positive and hopeful now seeing someone.
Section 1.2 – Quality principle 2: I
should be offered high quality;
evidence-informed treatment,
care and support interventions
which reduce harm and empower
me in my recovery.
I don't think anything should be shared without my say so.
The range of therapies has been a huge help to me.
Really nice office + staff I've been offered to go to groups but I'm
not into that just now.
Very happy with services provided.
With GP, Mental health hospital.
As I have said previously, very happy with the services on hand to
me.
Section 1.3 – Quality principle 3: I
should be supported by workers
who have the right attitudes,
values, training and supervision
throughout my recovery journey.
Groups not for me personally, discussed getting back to work
which is a goal.
Helped to get depression sorted out as well.
I am very happy with the quality of service from my workers.
I have been informed of all services available to me and enjoy
them immensely.
It's falling to bits.
Staff are really nice.
Section 1.4 – Quality principle 4: I
should be involved in a full,
strength-based assessment that
ensures the choice of recovery
model and therapy is based on my
needs and aspirations.
Assessment was long and had loads of questions.
Everything fine.
Not going into treatment happy to just see worker at turning
point.
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Section 1.5 – Quality principle 5: I
should have a recovery plan that is
person-centred and addresses my
broader health, care and social
needs and maintains a focus on
my safety throughout my recovery
journey.
Section 1.6 – Quality principle 6: I
am involved in regular reviews of
my recovery plan to ensure it
continues to meet my needs and
aspirations.
Section 1.7 – Quality principle 7: I
have the opportunity to be
involved in the on-going
evaluation of the delivery of
services at each stage of my
recovery.
Section 1.8 – Quality principle 8:
Services should be family inclusive
as part of their practice.
Same again, everything fine with service.
Not been in touch yet with volunteering agency not been long
enough for review.
The reason for me ticking No, it has nothing to do with the
service, it was job centre etc.
When I became a volunteer with DA, I was treated with dignity
and respect.
Sorry have to keep repeating same thing, but very happy with
services provided.
Abstinence is only way that works for me. Residential Rehab is
what I need and I'm grateful for the funding.
Don't want family members involved.
Thankfully because of this service, it has helped me get out of the
house & participate in groups.
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Table 2: Service Staff Comments
Aberdeenshire has traditionally struggled to achieve waiting time
targets but for the past 5 months has achieved the 90% target.
We remain on a knife edge and unexpected sickness absence,
maternity leave or retirement could easily affect our
performance. We have placed quality of service as a higher
priority than waiting times adherence and that is why we have
taken longer to meet the targets than other areas. Other factors
include the fact that we are a rural area making service delivery
tougher to achieve in an efficient way. Also, if we use the NRAC
formula used to allocate A&D resources to Health Boards to
allocate to ADPs within Grampian, we discover that
Aberdeenshire is currently disadvantaged to the order of
hundreds of thousands of pounds. If we could access these funds,
we would easily meet the waiting times targets and have more
resilient and less stressed services.
Aberdeenshire: I am new in post so not sure of timescales.
Section 2.1 – Quality principle 1:
People accessing a service should
be able to quickly access the right
drug or alcohol service that keeps
them safe and supports them
throughout their recovery
Aberdeenshire: In the unlikely case that a service user has had to
wait it will usually be due to the service user being unable to
attend or if there has been a staff shortage/vacancy/sickness.
Aberdeenshire: Ordinarily service users will receive their first
appointment and begin their treatment with the service within 3
weeks. We have had occasion when this has not happened due
to staff issues - staff leaving and the gap before the new worker
commences.
Aberdeenshire: Our main strength is communication within the
team and also with integrated agencies.
Aberdeenshire: Our new single point of access service has really
improved this area of our services. Clients are now seen quickly
and allocated to the correct service from the outset.
Aberdeenshire: Since implementing HEAT targets big difference
in people getting into treatment sooner.
Aberdeenshire: the majority of our heat targets are met, it is only
a very rare occasion it may not be due to staff absence/reasons
out with our control. We work very hard to achieve targets.
Aberdeenshire: Unfortunately we had a bad spell where a
number of staff were off sick and this did delay things for a short
time.
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Providing a service within such a rural area can be challenging.
We are able to meet with clients in their own surgeries but even
this can be challenging. Also accessing our excellent 3rd sector
groups/programmes in our towns can be difficult due to poor bus
services. We provide bus passes but it is often the lack of buses
that causes the problem. Our needle exchange is excellent and
our nurse has a fantastic retention record for keeping 'hidden
drug users' in contact with services. Her harm reduction
initiatives and work have been outstanding. We are all well
supported by our Team Leader to improve and develop ourselves
and we have PLT every 2 months to ensure we stay updated.
Section 2.2 – Quality principle 2:
People accessing a service should
be offered high-quality; evidenceinformed treatment, care and
support interventions which
reduce harm and empower them
in their recovery.
Aberdeenshire: Most of this is discussed at the Initial
appointment.
Aberdeenshire: Accessing treatment like residential rehabilitation
is not always an easy journey for individuals. Our service
promotes and funds rehabilitation. NHS provides detox funding
as part of this package - the process to access this can be
unnecessarily lengthy and at times there can be differences of
opinion between professions that limits the choices and rights of
individuals.
Aberdeenshire: I've disagreed with the accommodation question
for the following reasons: 1. There is a small but significant
group of GP practices who choose not to engage with this patient
group (and are perceived by the community to be highly
disparaging) resulting in reduced engagement levels and an
additional barrier to gaining access to tier 3 services. 2. Due to
the rural nature of our services, finding acceptable
accommodation to see people close to their home is difficult. We
have to improvise and adapt making it difficult to offer an ideal
environment on every occasion.
Section 2.3 – Quality principle 3:
People accessing a service should
be supported by workers who
have the right attitudes, values,
training and supervision
throughout their recovery journey.
Encouraging clients to think about moving on has been a whole
new concept for our service, but we are becoming so much more
recovery 'journey' focussed and have developed an excellent
shared care system that ensures clients are always moving
forward and not becoming dependant on their CPN.
Aberdeenshire: We support and actively more service users on to
moving on and out services.
Aberdeenshire: Our team are particularly open-minded, nonjudgmental and very person-centred.
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Aberdeenshire: Connecting with Community Groups is very much
part of the individuals Support plan. We currently use a limited
amount of volunteers to help introduce service users to activities
in the community and would like to develop the use of
volunteers further.
Section 2.3 – Quality principle 3:
People accessing a service should
be supported by workers who
have the right attitudes, values,
training and supervision
throughout their recovery journey
Aberdeenshire: At times our ADP can appear to be less
supportive of initiatives put forward by the local authority team
that I work with; tending to favour voluntary sector
organisations. This has proved to be obstructive in an individual's
journey through recovery and difficult for team members to
understand.
Aberdeenshire: I'm reasonably confident that we broadly do well
on most of this principle with the exception of connection to
community groups. We have a growing network of community
groups in Aberdeenshire but I'm not convinced that all of our
services encourage and help people to engage. Some may not do
so due to pressures of work, however, others may not do so due
to a reluctance to refer to services or community groups not
controlled by themselves. We still have vestiges of paternalistic
behaviours evident.
Our single point of access has really increased quick access to all
services. They complete a brief assessment at the first point. The
CPN then has a single shared assessment (which is currently
being redesigned to reduce some of the duplication) but we also
need to fill in SMR25(a) and WTI forms and it can really lengthen
the assessment process for our clients which we can all find
frustrating.
Section 2.5 – Quality principle 4:
People accessing a service should
be involved in a full, strengthbased assessment that ensures the
choice of recovery model and
therapy is based on their needs
and aspirations.
Aberdeenshire: in my opinion Assessment paperwork can be
quite intrusive and intense. It also tends to ask questions which
lead to the negatives of someone's situation, I always try to then
look at how we can help turn things around and in to positives.
Aberdeenshire: Initial assessment is carried out by a CPN with a
Social Worker to ensure all areas of the clients' lives are taken
into account and a wider range of options can be offered.
Aberdeenshire: Our Service Users are all now offered an
assessment under SDS which focuses on individuals strengths.
Aberdeenshire: Too many assessment appointments lead to
barriers in accessing treatment.
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Section 2.5 – Quality principle 4:
People accessing a service should
be involved in a full, strengthbased assessment that ensures the
choice of recovery model and
therapy is based on their needs
and aspirations.
Aberdeenshire: Within our social work service we have
developed an outcomes focused service and work within selfdirected support principles as much as possible. This ensures that
the service user is directing their recovery plan as much as
possible. Written assessment completion is not mandatory
before some services can be put in place. If a need is identified
and risks are assessed then a service can be put in place almost
immediately if appropriate while on-going assessment continues.
Aberdeenshire: Assessment used by our service is outcome
focused; think SSA used by clinical team should also focus on
outcomes.
Aberdeenshire: I've used 'agree' rather than 'fully agree' for most
because a proportion of service users still tell us that they don't
have a copy of their recovery plan and can't recall its contents.
Reviewing high caseloads every 3 months can be a challenge and
clients often feel they are only being reviewed and 'not doing any
work'. This area is an area we are currently working on and the
new recovery outcome tool should make this a lot simpler for
everyone.
Aberdeenshire: clients find it difficult to move on from our
services as we are the prescribers of substitutes such as
methadone/suboxone.
Section 2.6 – Quality principle 5:
People accessing a service should
have a recovery plan that is
person-centred and addresses
their broader health, care and
social needs, and maintains a focus
on their safety throughout their
recovery journey
Aberdeenshire: Simplified or graphic versions of their recovery
plans could be given to the client.
Aberdeenshire: Often our Service Users do not want a copy of
their plan even when offered this. We have a number of service
users in temporary accommodation or 'sofa surfing' and they do
not wish this type of paperwork to be left around.
Aberdeenshire: A strength of our service is the ability to work
with service users from the beginning right through their journey
e.g. engaging in any kind of support, assessing for residential or
community based treatment and support, actively provide the
support or commission a service (e.g. a rehab that can) then
provide support in recovery for as long as needed and guidance
to access supports and resources within their local community to
sustain their sobriety.
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Section 2.6 – Quality principle 5:
People accessing a service should
have a recovery plan that is
person-centred and addresses
their broader health, care and
social needs, and maintains a focus
on their safety throughout their
recovery journey
Aberdeenshire: We actually have support plans and as these are
reviewed regularly the focus of a service user’s journey will
change.
Aberdeenshire: Support plans/recovery plans used by our service
are outcome focussed.
Aberdeenshire: Our evidence is that the main reason people find
their way into mutual aid is not via assertive service support.
As before for CP5. Our new assessment tool is a lot more
aspirational rather than just needs lead and it is will link in well
with the new Recovery Outcome Tool.
Section 2.7 – Quality principle 6:
People accessing a service should
be involved in regular reviews of
their recovery plan to ensure it
continues to meet their needs and
aspirations.
Aberdeenshire: Reviews are scheduled once the Support Plan is
implemented and these are in place for service users both
residing in the community or while in residential rehab.
Aberdeenshire: Our practitioners are social work trained as well
as have qualifications in the drug and alcohol field. We work
closely with other services to provide support in all areas of life
e.g. housing, DWP
Aberdeenshire: At the moment, services use a variety of different
review tools. We are in the process of introducing the ROW
recovery outcome monitoring tool as a universal mechanism in
advance of DAISy introduction.
Service user feedback is a big part of our work now and has been
excellent. Our ADP is excellent in constantly evaluating and
developing our services.
Section 2.8 – Quality principle 7:
People accessing a service should
have the opportunity to be
involved in the on-going
evaluation of the delivery of
services at each stage of their
recovery.
Aberdeenshire: Family members can receive a service in their
own right if they so wish but are regularly involved in discussions
or reviews if all parties are in agreement. We regularly offer 1; 1
sessions for family members and over many years have run group
work sessions for family members. This year I helped facilitate a
number of workshops for services on Family Inclusive practice.
Aberdeenshire: at time of review, service users are invited to
complete survey monkey of their experience with the service.
This information is collated and forms part of our reporting
process.
Aberdeenshire: I'm not convinced about the robustness of our
independent advocacy services and therefore not sure of how
well they are used.
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We have a very good significant other support service with the
CSMS, CASA also offer supports to family/friends and children
affected by parental alcohol use. It is always helpful if
family/friends want to part of a client’s recovery journey.
Obviously if clients do not want this we will sign post
family/friends to supports in our area, but we would continue to
encourage clients to keep an open mind for their future supports.
Section 2.9 – Quality principle 8:
Services should be family inclusive
as part of their practice
Aberdeenshire: In recent months we have been heavily involved
in improving the reporting format for all drug and alcohol
services to ensure the correct information goes to children's
hearings and case conferences. This allows service users to see
we are all working strongly together to ensure that both parents
and children are supported.
Aberdeenshire: We actively provide support to significant others.
We involve and support family members - if the individual is not
ready to address their substance misuse issues we will still work
with family members and support them to cope with the issues
and impact.
Aberdeenshire: We work with family members/significant
others/carers in their own right. We don't have to be working
with a service user to be working with a family member.
Aberdeenshire: We have made great efforts to incorporate
'family inclusive practice' in our services.
Section 2.10 – Quality principle 3:
People accessing a service should
be supported by workers who
have the right attitudes, values,
training and supervision
throughout their recovery journey.
I think the Quality Principles have underpinned what we have
been doing. We have undergone a huge service redesign and
having the QP's at the centre of changes we have made has been
invaluable. We often become so busy we forget that we are
actually doing a really good and challenging job - reminding
ourselves of the QP's is a good way to reassure ourselves that we
are doing a good job with all our clients and more importantly
they are receiving the best services that we can offer.
Aberdeenshire: unfamiliar with the quality principles, however I
am likely applying them all unknowingly. My goal is to familiarise
myself with them.
Aberdeenshire: My immediate Line Manager is very supportive
and offers good advice and information.
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Aberdeenshire: We have always pursued a high standard within
the local authority and implementing the quality Principles really
just reinforced the way we were already working.
Section 2.10 – Quality principle 3:
People accessing a service should
be supported by workers who
have the right attitudes, values,
training and supervision
throughout their recovery journey.
Section 2.11 – Quality principle 2:
People accessing a service should
be offered high-quality; evidenceinformed treatment, care and
support interventions which
reduce harm and empower them
in their recovery.
Aberdeenshire: The service in which I work has supported further
education in this field. The partnership is very focused on
involvement and supporting staff in 3rd sector agencies and at
times to the detriment of what can be offered to service users as
a whole. There has recently been an attempt to look at
workforce development but those who attended were left
unclear and confused by what the ADP was trying to achieve.
Our service is now starting to feel quite separate from what our
ADP is doing. We work towards the Quality Principles and have
high standards of practice within our service. Recently most of
our team members worked through an 8 month course on
Motivational Interviewing to significantly strengthen the
intervention skills of practitioners. I am not sure if our ADP even
knows this!
Aberdeenshire: This last 18 months we have really been
concerned about the move we have seen by the ADP to transfer
so much funds to the 3rd sector and have challenged the fact
that there methods of distributing funds did not comply with
financial regulations. We have been very badly treated for
moving towards SDS and this has caused a great deal of
consternation to management when this is now part of our
statutory duties. This has certainly seen a split within services
where NHS has now realigned themselves with the 3rd sector.
The Single Points of Access should have provided a better service
to the clients we work with but I would question this approach
being run by the 3rd Sector. We raised concerns about the most
chaotic clients many who have dual diagnosis. We requested that
risks be clearly identified so that the referrals go to the correct
agencies. Now we are finding that many of these clients are not
getting the supports they require and risky behaviours are being
ignored. The experience of the local authority to support the
most vulnerable and chaotic members of our communities are
being ignored. We would like to see improved joint working again
but feel that there is a lack of honesty within certain areas of the
ADP that is channelling division amongst services.
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We have some excellent partnership working and resources in
our area. There are of course challenges when trying to cross
boundaries in to different services - the GP's in one of our major
towns have put in so many obstacles for clients who require
healthcare and services but also have a substance misuse
problem. We pride ourselves with our excellent working
relationships with our 3rd sector services and also with our ADP.
Section 2.11 – Quality principle 2:
People accessing a service should
be offered high-quality; evidenceinformed treatment, care and
support interventions which
reduce harm and empower them
in their recovery.
Aberdeenshire: Our ADP is currently forging ahead with a single
point of access within our area. In principle this is a sound idea. In
practice however it appears that funding is being squandered as
the SPA doubles up on what is already being offered in many/if
not all local areas. The money could have been better spend
elsewhere - or less spent and current resources within a
professional social work team with adult protection/child
protection experience and skills utilised better.
Aberdeenshire: I am concerned how ADP "underspend" has been
allocated to 3rd sector agencies 2 years running to drive Single
points of access/ROSC model. I am concerned about the lack of
transparent tendering processes and how the usual partners get
the funding. Especially with Health and Social Care Integration on
the horizon. I am also concerned that recovery is the new driver.
Whilst recovery has its place we must not forget about harm
reduction and early stages of recovery.
Aberdeenshire: The ADP has excellent connections with the Child
protection committee but much less so with the adult protection
committee. Resources delegated to this ADP are distributed in a
clear and transparent fashion. However, That is far from the case
regards about £1.3m of ADP monies that are top sliced at Health
Board level.
Section 2.12 – Quality principle 3
& 7: (3) People accessing a service
should be supported by workers
who have the right attitudes,
values, training and supervision
throughout their recovery journey;
(7) People accessing a service
should have the opportunity to be
involved in an on-going evaluation
of the delivery of services at each
stage of their recovery
I feel very well supported by my Team Leader and also my Service
Manager. We all share the same visions in constantly developing
and improving our services. Our ADP is also extremely supportive
and they are always keen to advise and support any new
initiatives. I feel very well informed of any changes that are being
considered.
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Aberdeenshire: The ADP leadership could do better to be more
transparent and open in its strategic decision-making. At times it
can appear that there are hidden pre-determined agendas that
often seem to have the collusive support of any given number of
participating partner agencies (but never all participating
agencies) depending on what the agenda is. This may simply be a
reflection of the accepted politics between competing agencies
of power. However there appears to be a general and worrying
trend, driven, it would appear, by the pressures of the target-led
culture to make increasing use of 3rd sector partner agencies in a
way that exceeds their traditional remit and the skills, experience
and training of their workforce. The consequences are
potentially serious both in terms of risk to the 3rd sector itself
and to the users of alcohol and drug services.
Section 2.12 – Quality principle 3 &
7: (3) People accessing a service
should be supported by workers
who have the right attitudes,
values, training and supervision
throughout their recovery journey;
(7) People accessing a service
should have the opportunity to be
involved in an on-going evaluation
of the delivery of services at each
stage of their recovery
Aberdeenshire: Within the Local authority over many years we
have always been at the forefront of innovative practice Operation Hotspur (joint working with the police) Festive
Initiative (also with the police) Work in HMP Grampian with short
term offenders. Numerous groups such as gardening Projects,
drop ins, acupuncture, confidence to Cook, Winter programme
offering short certificated courses, employability staff, support
Groups for family members, training and awareness sessions of
other teams within the Local authority, stands at local events,
awareness and training sessions within schools etc. Staff are very
proactive and where they see a need they will often role out a
new project to meet that need.
Aberdeenshire: There appears to be difficulties at a senior
manager level. This affects frontline staff and their abilities to
work in partnership. My role sits in the middle - I work directly
with service users and have a senior role within the service so am
involved in some decision making forums. I have clearly seen that
the SW service in this area has been under estimated by the ADP.
This is disappointing.
Aberdeenshire: Personally I am no longer impressed by our ADP
and feel it is contributing to divisiveness between services. I
personally do not feel supported by our ADP body and feel less
inclined to be involved with collaborative work with them.
Aberdeenshire: We are fortunate in Aberdeenshire to enjoy for
the most part excellent partnership working. There is a clear
vision and agenda developed on a bottom up and top-down basis
and articulated by the ADP that most services follow very closely.
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