National Drugs Rehabilitation Framework: person-centred care in the addiction services

Abstract

Introduction: The National Drugs Rehabilitation Framework (2010) is a framework through which service providers can ensure that individuals affected by drug use can access a range of integrated options tailored to meet their needs and create for them an individual rehabilitation pathway An integrated model of rehabilitation means that the Service User’s specific needs are met through interventions which are not necessarily confined to drug-specific interventions. Each Service User will have a complexity of needs which will require support in some or all of the following areas: Drug specific interventions Housing and tenancy support and independent living Mental/physical/intellectual disability General health services and health promotion Employment (incl. community employment), work placements Community integration, social and recreational activities Education and training, personal development Justice, law and criminal issues support Family support and childcare Budgeting and money management Transition programmes (eg. structured pre-induction) Aftercare No one agency will be able to provide the range of supports that the service user needs. Therefore, through the NDRF process of comprehensive assessment, key working, care planning and case management, the specific need of the service user can be established and the services they require can be coordinated. Change management process, practice change, targetted population and stakeholders, timeline Following a pilot roll-out in ten sites, the NDRF was evaluated in 2013 and is now being implemented nationally in services who work with drug-using individuals. The change management process has included the following: Nomination of local rehabilitation drivers through the Drug and Alcohol Task Forces Inclusion in the National Drug Treatment Reporting System Inclusion in the HSE Operation Plan as a national key performance indicator Inclusion in service level agreements between the HSE and section 39 funded projects Inclusion as sample evidence in the National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare workbooks for the Addiction Services Highlights: Achievements to date include: Development and sharing of protocols and resources online and through the rehabilitation drivers network Development of shared assessment criteria and referral pathways in a number of Drug and Alcohol Task Force areas Local memorandum of understanding between services in Drug and Alcohol Task Forces on referral processes Planned development of a competency framework for staff who work with drug-using clients, in collaboration with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and HSE Mental Health Development of competency based training resources Under the NDRF, the Service User can expect person-centred care, consistency of care, integrated care based on assessed need, individualised care plan and quality service provision. Sustainability and transferability: The NDRF is supported at a local level by the Drug and Alcohol Task Force through the nominated rehabilitation driver, and by sectors at a national level through representation on National Drug Rehabilitation Implementation Committee (NDRIC). The NDRF is supported by a national Coordinator within HSE Social Inclusion and by the National Oversight Forum on Drugs. The MOUs on referral processes in many areas and the successful implementation of shared assessments and referrals in the South are supported by the sharing of information, tools, policies, resources and training by the rehabilitation drivers through the national Coordinator.