Swindon CSP

Swindon Drug and Alcohol Action Team (SDAAT), part of Swindon Community Safety Partnership, exists to reduce the harm caused by drugs and alcohol to improve well-being. SDAAT will achieve this through Strategic co-ordination, collaborative action, pooled resource investment and the commissioning of evidence based, effective, quality services.

Drug Action Teams were established by the government in 1995 to ensure the strategic co-ordination of local action on drug misuse. Since January 1998, Drug Action Teams have been pursuing the national strategy laid out in 'Tackling Drugs Together to Build a Better Britain'. In 2008 the Government introduced a new second National Drugs Strategy, 'Drugs: protecting families and communities'. Through the ten year strategy SDAAT ensures to deliver at a local level, aiming to reduce the harm caused by drugs focusing on protecting families and strengthening communities. The activity of the SDAAT will improve health and well-being, economic, community safety, and criminal justice outcomes for individuals, families and communities across Swindon.

This will be achieved by:

• Developing a needs focussed culture
• Securing the required investment
• Delivering effective evidence based commissioning
• Involving individuals, families, communities, and other stakeholders within the functions of the partnership
• Collaboratively working together as partners, stakeholders and providers
• Communicating effectively with the whole community
• Promoting prevention
• Having a transparent approach to its activity and functioning
• Having a competent and professional workforce across all levels - operational, management and strategic

What we do

SDAAT ensures that the work of local agencies is brought together effectively and that cross-agency projects are co-ordinated successfully. SDAAT makes strategic decisions on expenditure and service delivery within the four main divisions of the National Drugs Strategy which are,

• Treatment
• Young People
• Communities
• Availability

SDAAT's main role is to commission services appropriate to the needs of local communities, monitor and report on performance and communicate plans, activities and performance to stakeholders.

Swindon DAAT's priorities include:

• increasing the number of drug and alcohol users accessing treatment services
• ensuring that more users can access treatment services more quickly
• improving the effectiveness of the treatment journey for drug and alcohol users, parents, carers and concerned others
• continuing to roll out the Drug Intervention Programme, a project designed to break the cycle of drug and alcohol use and crime by ensuring that drug and alcohol users who are committing crime receive treatment
• continuing to develop drug and alcohol services for children and young people
• supporting local people concerned about drug and alcohol use in the area where they live or work.

SDAAT commissions a range of services across the Swindon area aimed at supporting problem drug and alcohol users. These include:

• community drug teams (CDTs) that include: -specialist substitute prescribing & shared care for substance misuse (GP) prescribing
• mother and baby services
• specialist crack service users
• blood borne virus service
• in-patient and community detoxification
• residential rehabilitation
• drop-in
• specialist and community needle exchange and pharmacy provision
• outreach work with homeless and vulnerable groups
• Criminal Justice Interventions
• young people's services

A variety of support and follow on services are also available including:

• tenancy support
• education and employment services to back up treatment and sustain recovery.

Over the last two years, substantial developments have been made through the Drug Intervention Programme. The programme provides clear pathways through drug treatment and other services for those with offending and drug related problems. There has also been increased investment in the expansion of services within the primary care sector, aiming to improve involvement of users and carers in service development. Most services deal mainly with Class A drug users but some offer services for problematic use of other substances including cannabis and alcohol.