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Primary care predicts future of substance misuse recovery

Publication date: 31 January 2013

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and Substance Misuse Management in General Practice (SMMGP) have issued a joint paper considering the future impact of the changing commissioning environment on primary care drug and alcohol treatment. 

The paper explores how primary care can proactively contribute to the rapidly developing recovery systems of care, by building on its strong legacy of safe, holistic and clinically effective care closer to home. It also includes checklists on how to evidence that services are working towards these themes. The paper is being presented at a joint RCGP and National Treatment Agency conference in York this week to an audience of over 200 clinicians, commissioners and service providers.

Co-author and RCGP Substance Misuse and Associated Health Medical Director Dr Linda Harris, said

“This paper covers key themes of recovery-oriented treatment and illustrates the unique role that primary care plays  in improving outcomes for individuals, families and the wider community. The paper emphasises the importance of locally designed and responsive services and the opportunities for primary healthcare teams, working with Clinical Commissioning Groups and their Local Health and Wellbeing Boards  to improve outcomes for patients. The paper offers practical examples of how a practice or a shared care team can benchmark the quality of their systems, and thereby provide evidence to commissioners that they are working in a recovery focused way. It is essential reading for all those commissioning and providing recovery services within substance misuse.”

Co-author Kate Halliday, Policy and Development Manager at the SMMGP said:

“Primary care is ideally placed to provide treatment for people with drug and alcohol problems as part of a recovery focused system. In the new era of localism it is essential that primary care evidences its important role in reducing the harms associated with drugs and alcohol and also in achieving positive health outcomes. This paper will support practitioners and clinicians to evidence quality within primary care based drug and alcohol treatment. “

Ends

RCGP Press office – 020 3188 7574/7575/7576
Out of hours: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

The joint paper can be found on the Policy section of the RCGP website

The paper will be presented at the NTA/RCGP Joint Northern Conference: Recovery in Primary Care – Shaping, Leading, Influencing  on Thursday 31 January at the  Royal Hotel in York.

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 46,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.

Further Information

RCGP Press office - 020 3188 7574/7575/7576
Out of hours: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editor

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 46,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.