Drug addicts medicated by the NHS
Seventy per cent of Islington drug users in treatment are medicated with methadone just to keep them stable, the Council’s Health and Wellbeing Committee heard this month.
Mary O’Donnell from Islington Primary Care Trust stated that “rehab is not a picnic, it’s not a nice hotel, you have to work for it.”
Users: Up to 70 per cent of rehab patients return within 5 years (Photo: Flickr)
However the Committee’s chair Paul Convery raised concerns over the proportion of drug users merely being supported and medicated instead of being encouraged to get their life back on track.
The latest figures, presented by Ms O’Donnell show that Islington has 1,426 adults in care for substance misuse, which the PCT estimate is 40 per cent of all problematic drug users in the Borough.
“We have less people going to rehab than nearby Camden and Hackney,” said Ms O’Donnell. “But better results for the length of time they stay.”
Despite remaining positive about the methods and practise of drug rehabilitation, Ms O’Donnell admitted: “Revolving door clients are the bread and butter of our services.”
She estimated that 30 per cent of patients would return within one year and 65-70 per cent would return to care within five years. Nevertheless, Ms O’Donnell, Senior Joint Commissioning Manager of Substance Misuse, insisted that: “We have got a system that is working, that is improving and needs to keep improving.”
