Government announces funding for drug and alcohol services

The government has announced 54.3 million pounds of capital funding for the improvement of residential and in-patient drug and alcohol services aimed at improving patient outcome and increasing capacity.

Included in the proposals are women-only facilities in addition to services for families with children, as well as those with disabilities, ethnic minorities and those at risk of committing legal offences.

Following a bidding process, this funding was allocated to Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) for tier four drug and alcohol services.

Carline Flint, public health minister, said: “Today’s announcement is a clear sign that drug treatment remains a key priority for government funding. Only recently we announced a further increase to the pooled drug treatment budget.”

Ms Flint added that at least 9.50 pounds was saved by the government in crime and health costs for every pound spent on drug treatment, with this recently announced financial assistance for those requiring services to fund a life away from drugs.

In 2002, 28 SHAs were created by the government to manage local NHS trusts. On July 1st 2006 their number was reduced to ten, with the aim of delivering stronger commissioning functions to achieve better value for money and enhanced patient services.