NHS Addiction detox services :How Quickly Can I Be Seen?

NHS Addiction Detox Services. They exist, right?

No!

Well, for a start, the NHS is not responsible for providing drug and alcohol services.

All local services are provided by your local authority. They are the ones responsible for providing services, are at liberty to commission any provider. A charity, the NHS, third sector provider or even provide it themselves.

Services differ from county to county.

NHS Addiction detox services:How Does It Work?

In complicated ways!

It really is a postcode lottery.

Your local authority commission’s services and thus has control over what is provided. For example, some will provide residential rehab; however, most won’t. Additionally, some will provide a home alcohol detox, while others will not.

Furthermore, you can’t use a service outside of your local area. Although you don’t have to pay for treatment, you do have to prove your entitlement to it.

Moreover, if you move while receiving a prescription from your local service, it will soon stop if you don’t link in with the new service provider.”

What Do Local Authority Addiction Services Provide?

That depends on where you live.

Firstly, the primary aim of local authority addiction services is crime reduction.

For instance, methadone helps people who use heroin stop committing crimes to fund their drug habits.

Moreover, all local services provide methadone (or buprenorphine) to those who need it.

Additionally, for those who are dependent on cocaine and other short-acting drugs, keyworkers provide psychosocial support and keywork sessions. However, there is no detox for these substances.

Furthermore, with regards to alcohol, it depends on how much you are drinking. Specifically, a community alcohol detox may be available, in certain circumstances.

NHS Addiction detox services: Alcohol Home Detox

National clinical guidelines clearly define the exclusion criteria for alcohol home detox, allowing for little flexibility.

Should you fall within the list below you won’t be able to have a home alcohol detox:

• If you drink more than 30 units a day
• Been in detox in the last 6 months (at home or residential)
• History of alcohol withdrawal related seizures
• Co-occurring addiction
• Prescription for benzodiazepines, gabapentinoids and strong opioids
• Adverse blood results

Procedure for Home Alcohol Detox

All will, therefore, require you to start on a Monday. Blood tests, if needed, will be done on sight or, alternatively, in conjunction with your GP, who will be involved in your aftercare.

During the first visit on Monday morning, a nurse will, first and foremost, assess you, using a standardised alcohol monitoring assessment formula.

Furthermore, a breathalyser will be used to ensure it is safe to start your treatment. This is, in fact, to ensure your blood alcohol level is not too high.

Subsequently, the nurse will come back in the afternoon and then, daily, for the next four days.

NHS Addiction detox services :Free Drug and Alcohol Rehab

Just as there is no such thing as a free lunch, there is no such thing as free drug and alcohol rehab. Someone, somewhere is paying for it!

Local authority budgets are tight. They are getting tighter.

If you link in with local services, your keyworker can put you forward for a stay in rehab but it isn’t going to happen straightaway.

Detox Only

Some NHS units provide 24/7 residential detox staffed by medical professionals. Moreover, local authority addiction services commission these units to support individuals at significant physical and psychological risk. Consequently, they deliver an exceptional level of care.

However, the problem is that these units do not provide therapy, relapse prevention, or aftercare. Therefore, the aim would be for your local authority service to fund a rehab stay, and for you to go straight there the minute you finish detox. Unfortunately, it rarely happens. This is why people relapse.

Furthermore, all those uncomfortable thoughts you were suppressing with drugs and alcohol will resurface. As a result, you won’t be able to deal with them. If you could, you wouldn’t have needed a detox.

NHS Addiction detox services: Buvidal Injections

Buvidal is a new treatment for heroin and opioid addiction.

No more pills or potions; instead, it is a long-acting injection.

Sounds good? Yes, but, actually, it isn’t new. Buprenorphine, a drug that has been around for over fifty years, is now available in an injection: Buvidal.

However, it isn’t cheap, and local authority services are now realizing that it isn’t the golden ticket it was once thought to be.

Buvidal: A game changer

Moreover, for those who are settled on Methadone or oral Buprenorphine, it can be a game changer. Specifically, you can stay on it (maintenance), reduce on it, or even reduce down and swap to oral medication down to zero.

After four weekly injections, it can be taken monthly. Consequently, no more trips to the chemist. You can’t lose it, and no one can steal it from you.

On the other hand, the problem is that some local authority services have, quite literally, been dishing it out to all and sundry on the theory that the more chaotic the individual, the more you should use it. In fact, the complete opposite is true.

NHS Addiction detox services: How to Access

Easily.

Firstly, your local authority website will tell you who the provider is. Additionally, you can ask your GP or look it up on the internet.

Furthermore, most services are open Monday to Friday. However, some have walk-in services, while others are by appointment only.

Importantly, no one is turned away. In fact, you will be made to feel welcome.

Moreover, the keyworker you speak to may well be in recovery themselves. Although everyone reaches addiction through different strands, there are common experiences. Consequently, they will have an understanding of what is going on

Free Advice from An Experienced Addictions Clinician

You can speak to an experienced addictions clinician. We have some who have worked in local authority services.

Our advice is free, confidential and impartial.

Should you choose to seek residential treatment we don’t charge for referrals.

Our service is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

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