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Dear Scrutiny Panel
We have been providing abstinence based treatment for those who suffer with drug and/or alcohol addiction from Silkworth lodge for over fifteen years.
In 2004 it was highlighted by a scrutiny panel that Silkworth Lodge should be used as an important part of the care pathway, to get those that suffer with addiction back into society free from their alcohol/drug dependency .
Initially following the scrutiny panel recommendations, Silkworth lodge was utilised in this way, however it is not being utilised to its full potential by the main and most important source of referral ( Drug & Alcohol Department ). This is not only an inefficient use of tax payers money but also a severe miscarriage of justice for all those people that are currently in the system that are not getting access and choice of abstinence based treatment.
Silkworth Lodge has received no referrals from the Drug & Alcohol Team since October last year and minimal referrals in the years prior which is absolutely appalling baring in mind the severity of the alcohol & drug problem here in Jersey and the number of people that are being maintained on the books of Drug & Alcohol.
As a professional and ethical organisation that go over and beyond the requirements that our care home registration requires us to adhere to, I am extremely concerned as to the reasons behind this, particularly when Health & Social Services are investing considerable sums of tax payers money in reforming the current health service, where a strong message is being sent through the white paper that utilising community services and building new relationships with community organisations is one of the key objectives to moving forward with this new Health Service. If Health are not doing it right now, what chance does the content of the white paper have going forward ?
We have tried to tackle the issues that we are facing and importantly the fact that so many alcoholic/addicts together with their families, significant others and the wider community (ie) friends, employers etc are missing out on a service which will ultimately change their lives, bringing more addicts back into society as contributing members of the public as opposed to them possibly being a financial burden on society in many ways (Housing, employment, contributions, courts, prison etc etc). These issues have been raised with senior members of Health & Social Services including the Minister responsible, however we are yet to be given an explanation as to why our service is not being utilised to its full potential by the States of Jersey. It is also important to point out that the clients that have and are utilising our service are GP referrals together with medical Insurance Company referrals and self referring, a vast majority of which have already been associated in some way with the Drug & Alcohol Team. Why are these people not being directed to us from Drug & Alcohol ? They are not being given the choice....
In order for the White Paper to be worth the paper it is written on, the authors and Health Leads need to get it right with Third Sector organisations and enable them to work at doing what they do best without the threat and somewhat bullying tactics which some of us are encountering. One sided Service Level Agreements do not help and are a legally, constitutionally and morally pointless piece of paper which does not demonstrate partnership working. Partnership relationships are what we are striving for aren't they ? Also the White Paper does not mention in any way whatsoever the Drug problem that we have here in Jersey and what it indeed costs the tax payer. How many known drug addicts are in the system and how long have they been there ? . Is there a reason for this ?
It is unfortunate that Silkworth lodge has been treated in this way, however I know that we are not the only organisation that have encountered difficulties, therefore how can the objectives of the White Paper be achieved if the trust and comfort is not there in the first place. As evidence of the difficulties we have endured, I have attached e-mail communication trail between our organisation and senior Health officials. More recently I have asked for answers to questions which will form the foundation of a meeting that we must have with Health in relation to our current Service Level Agreement. There have been no answers to these questions which are not unreasonable .
Silkworth Lodge are committed to working within the community in the field of drug and alcohol addiction and have partnered with the field leaders in the UK Action on Addiction , in order to move forward with the recovery model in Jersey. This is commitment that should not be ignored, as it is this direction that will work towards improving the already poor statistics of Drug /Alcohol addicts in Jersey. Please note the White Paper states that Alcohol is a priority under Healthy Life Styles , therefore surely more collaborative working would make sense as opposed to treating us as competition ?
As a current partner in the field of drug and alcohol addiction, I also find it strange that when Jersey is to host the first British Irish Council Sectoral group on the misuse of drugs, that we are not informed or invited to contribute. As the leader in abstinence based treatment in the Channel Islands, surely it makes sense to have the correct representation present from Jersey.
With everything that I have stated in this communication, I hope you can see how difficult it is for us to put any value on the high level H&SS White Paper, which I believe has not been detailed enough for public consultation and does not allow enough time for proper consultation with our service users. We want to move forward in partnership, however until the hurdles are removed by H&SS for us and other organisations, then the white paper is severely flawed, as the overall aim is for a more community based model.
With regards to the responses received by H&SS to the White Paper, I would like to know who will be responsible for reviewing the feedback and how these responses will be used and how the outcomes will be fed back to us.
Yours sincerely
Jason Wyse
CEO – Silkworth Charity Group