Staffordshire County Drug and Alcohol Action Team

Staffordshire County Drug and Alcohol Action Team heading

Launch of 'The Voice' (pdf document)

The Staffordshire Drug Action Team was set up in 1995 to tackle drug and alcohol misuse through a partnership of key agencies. In planning and working together, we have a more realistic chance of reducing drug and alcohol misuse across Staffordshire.

A ministerial decision was taken in 2000 that all Drug Action Teams had to be realigned along Local Authority boundaries bringing them more in line with other local partnerships, such as Community Safety and Youth Offending Services, by April 2001. Following this guidance, Stoke on Trent Drug Action Team was established in October 2000 and is responsible for the area covered by the Unitary Authority. At the same time, Staffordshire Drug Action Team became Staffordshire County Drug Action Team. There are 149 DATs in the country based on 34 Shire Districts and based on 115 Unitary Authorities.

Partner Agencies

Burntwood, Lichfield & Tamworth Primary Care Trust
Cannock Chase Primary Care Trust
Newcastle under Lyme Primary Care Trust
East Staffordshire Primary Care Trust
South Western Staffordshire Primary Care Trust
Staffordshire Moorlands Primary Care Trust
Business Representation

Staffordshire County Council

Staffordshire Probation Area

Staffordshire Police

Staffordshire County Council Education Services

HM Prison Service

Staffordshire Social Services

Staffordshire Youth Offending Service

HM Customs and Excise

Government Office West Midlands

Stafford Borough Council

Tamworth Borough Council

Lichfield District Council

Cannock Chase District Council

South Staffordshire District Council

East Staffordshire District Council

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council

Newcastle Borough Council

Staffordshire County DAT Structure:

DAT Co-ordinator
Support Manager
Commissioning Development Officer
Community Support Officer
Secretary/Administration Officer (2)
Parent/Carer Development Worker
Prison Substance Misuse Officer
Prison Link Worker
Young Persons Strategic Development Officer

The Team is based at:

Officers' Mess
24 Gaol Road
Stafford
ST16 3AN

Tel: 01785 223176 (24 hrs)
Fax: 01785 223177

E-mail: val.legg@scdat.co.uk

Current Vacancies

There are no current vacancies.

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Drugscope | Trashed | Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain
Needle Exchange in Staffordshire | Staffordshire "Sharps Scheme" | PRIDE

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Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain - 10 Year National Strategy

Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain, launched in April 1998, is a ten year national strategy for continuing a partnership approach for addressing drug misuse locally. Across England 149 Drug Action Teams are charged with developing a strategy which ensures joint commitment to reducing levels of drug use and minimising the harms associated with use.

The County DAT have set up Theme Groups to enable them to implement the strategy. Click on the relevant theme to see how the groups aim to achieve this.

Young People

Communities
Treatment
Availability

Young People

To ensure that all drug education in schools is provided in line with DfEE guidance by 2004.
To ensure all parents/carers have access to information on drugs and on local service provision.
To ensure all young people identified as being vulnerable to developing drug problems receive appropriate education advice, information and support both in and out of school settings.
To ensure all young people identified as having problems with substance misuse receive an appropriate intervention or care package with support for parents/carers.
To ensure all young people assessed as being in need are referred to appropriate treatment/ support programmes.

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Communities

To work closely with communities to increase their knowledge of drugs and drug-related issues.
To work closely with communities to identify their concerns/ local issues relating to drug use and help to find solutions.
To feed community concerns in to the Drug Action Team mechanism.
To work jointly with Community Safety Partnerships to address the needs of the residents of their localities and to implement CAD plans.

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Treatment

To ensure a range of treatment interventions are made available to substance misusers locally.
To increase participation of problem substance misusers including prisoners, in treatment programmes that have a positive impact on health and crime.
To have a maximum waiting times for admission into treatment programmes.
To ensure that all treatment programmes accord with nationally accepted quality standards.
To reduce the number of drug-related deaths.
To reduce the number of those in treatment who report injecting and the numbers of those injecting who report sharing injection equipment.

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Availability

To coordinate all local efforts at disrupting local drug markets.
To increase the percentage of drugs seized, particularly heroin and cocaine.
To increase the amount of assets identified and seized from drug traffickers.

DAT Plans

(These documents are provided in PDF format.
Acrobat Reader software is required in order to read them).

Drug Action Team Annual Return

Treatment Plan 2003/04

Young Persons Plan

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Needle Exchange in Staffordshire

The County Drug Action Team Secretariat manages a pharmacy based needle exchange scheme across South Staffordshire. The four IDAS teams also offer the service at their bases as well as dedicated outreach sites.

There are currently 21 pharmacies participating in the scheme. It is hoped to continue the expansion to enable a more localised and accessible service delivery to substance misusers across South Staffordshire.

The scheme across the north of the county is managed by Lloyds Pharmacies Ltd. There are currently 6 pharmacies covering the two PCT areas. Arch and Druglink (North Staffs) also offer needle exchange from their main bases and outreach sites.

For further details please contact one of the IDAS Teams on:

Cannock - 01543 468667

Burton - 01283 530426

Stafford - 01785 251820

Tamworth/Lichfield - 01827 310040

IDAS Information

IDAS - Cannock
12 Park Road
Cannock
WS11 1JN

Opening Hours –
Monday/Wednesday/Thursday: 9.00am – 4.30pm
Tuesday: 9.00pm – 9.00pm
Friday: 9.00am - 1.30pm

Needle Exchange
Monday/Wednesday/Thursday: 12.30pm - 4.30pm
Tuesday: 12.30pm - 6.00pm
Friday: 9.00am - 1.30pm

IDAS - Burton
150 - 151 Station Street
Burton on Trent
Staffordshire
DE14 1BG

Opening Hours –
Monday/Tuesday/Thursday: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Wednesday: 9.00am - 9.00pm
Friday: 9.00am – 4.00pm

Needle Exchange - Any time during the above hours.

IDAS - Stafford
1st and 2nd Floors
18 Martin Street
Stafford
ST16 2HP

Opening Hours –
Monday: 8.30am - 9.00pm
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday: 8.30am - 4.30pm
Friday: 8.30am - 4.00pm

Needle Exchange: 1.30pm onwards until closing time each day.

IDAS – Tamworth
1a King Street
Tamworth
B79 7DM

Opening Hours -
Monday - Friday: 9.00am - 4.00pm

Needle Exchange:
Tuesday: 1.00pm - 4.30pm
Friday: 9.00am - 1.00pm. And any other time if there is a qualified member of staff present during opening hours.

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The Staffordshire 'Sharps Scheme'

Careless or malicious discarding of needles and syringes in public places presents a risk of injury to the finder. The main risk is that a ‘needlestick injury’ could occur which is where a skin puncture is caused by a hypodermic needle.

The issue of discarded needles and syringes in the community prompted the County DAT and the Chief Environmental Health Officers Group, with the support of community drug teams, to develop county-wide ‘Sharps Guidelines’. As well as ensuring finds are dealt with, leaflets have been developed by local councils, advising the do’s and don’ts when finding a needle.

Alongside the Guidelines is a commitment to record all finds. A county log will map finds and identify problem areas, allowing strategies to minimise future problems.

What to do if you find a Needle

If you find a discarded needle:

Do not handle the needle/syringe with your hands
Sweep up using brush and pan
Place in a screw topped jar or strong cardboard box with a lid and keep them out of children’s reach
Take the needles/syringes to your nearest Environmental Health Department (who may also arrange for collection)

Or ring your local Environmental Health Department.

Cannock Chase District Council - 01543 462621
(Environmental Health Services)

East Staffordshire Borough Council - 01283 508000
(Environmental Health Department - Health and Safety Section)

Lichfield District Council - 01543 308000
(Environmental Health Services)

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council - 01782 717717
(Environmental Health Services)

South Staffordshire District Council - 01902 696000
(Environmental Health Department)

Stafford Borough Council - 01785 619000
(Waste Management Services)

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council - 01538 483483
(Community Services Directorate)

Tamworth Borough Council - 01827 709709
(Environmental Services Unit, Recycling / Waste Management Officer)

What to do if you receive a needlestick injury

Should you receive a needlestick injury take the following actions:

Encourage the puncture injury to bleed by gently squeezing – DO NOT SUCK THE WOUND.
Wash the area with soap and running water for at least five minutes.
Cover with a waterproof plaster.
Immediately visit your Doctor or Accident and Emergency Department where you should enquire about the relevant immunisation.

What are the hazards?

If a skin puncture is caused by a hypodermic needle the injured person is potentially infected with viruses including Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C.

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People Reducing the Influence of Drugs by Education

There are numerous videos, leaflets, training packs and other materials available for use in delivering drugs and alcohol education. However, whilst some are very good, others are potentially misleading.

The two Drug Action Teams within Staffordshire aim to promote consistent, high quality education materials, and have developed an accreditation process to ensure the best possible materials are used.

PRIDE is a mechanism for quality assurance in drug and alcohol education. PRIDE accreditation is awarded by Stoke on Trent Drug Action Team and Staffordshire County Drug Action Team for educational and training materials which encourage good practice and meet agreed criteria.

The types of materials which have been accredited through PRIDE include:

Videos
Leaflets
Posters
Training Packages
Information Packs
Board Games

For a list of pride Accredited materials call the DAT on 01785 223176 or click here

What do I get through PRIDE?

If you have developed an educational or training material, in submitting it for accreditation, you can expect:

Free, independent verification

And if accreditation is awarded, you can expect:

Recognition from the Drug Action Teams
A certificate of award
Promotion of your materials through the Drug Action Teams
Materials accredited within Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent could be forwarded to DrugScope for national accreditation. This process will be co-ordinated by Staffordshire DAT if requested.

What is the criteria for PRIDE?

In order to be accredited, materials must:

Only use information which is factually accurate
Demonstrate an awareness of the target group
Reflect current research evidence
Encourage inter-agency approaches and collaboration
Aim to reduce fear and prejudice
Seek to provide a broad perspective on drug and alcohol use
Discourage illegal and dangerous substance use
Discourage value judgements about drug and alcohol users
Not to be used for commercial purposes
Not breach copyright

How can I choose good materials?

Checking for the PRIDE logo is one way of ensuring credibility, but the scope of PRIDE is limited. There are a number of good materials out there. The checklist below may assist you to independently assess the video, leaflet or other training materials.

Good materials:

Give accurate and balanced facts, not aiming to shock or horrify.
Are relevant to the audience, reflecting an understanding of the target population’s existing knowledge and awareness.
Are based upon current evidence that works.
Have clear aims and consistent messages.
Do not promote prejudice or judgmental attitudes.
Discourage dangerous use and stress illegality.
Provide evidence of successful application elsewhere.
In addition there are some suitable guidance books including:
‘Guidance on Selecting Drug Education Materials for Schools’ by SCODA and the Drug Education Forum - available from DrugScope Library Services on 0207 928 1211

How to apply for PRIDE accreditation

Wherever possible, please provide 9 copies of the material to be evaluated.
Include any copies of evaluation forms to be used and/or results of any evaluations carried out.
If you are seeking accreditation for a Training/Education Programme, please include:

- details of teachers/trainers to be involved, including any training/experience in the field they may have
- details of aims, objectives and lesson plans
- copies of all handouts, overheads and resources

The application form and submitted materials will be reviewed by a panel of no fewer than three professionals with experience in the field.
Feedback is available upon request, and any materials not accredited may be re-submitted.
In-built evaluation will be expected from all PRIDE accredited materials.
Materials will be promoted through the DAT newsletter, the DAT websites, press releases and other sources, unless otherwise requested.
All PRIDE accredited materials hold the PRIDE status for 2 years before having to be re-submitted for accreditation.

Applications are normally reviewed 4 times a year but there is scope to meet at other times in order to address urgent requests.

Please call 01785 223176 for further information.

For consideration, materials should be submitted a minimum of 1 month prior to the meeting dates.

The PRIDE Application for Accreditation Form

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If you would like to print off a copy of this page please click here
(PLEASE NOTE: This document is provided in PDF format.
Acrobat Reader software is required in order to read it).

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