New Plans To Tackle Harm Caused By Substance Misuse Launched

Welsh Government plans to tackle substance misuse will mean more training for health professionals dealing with new psychoactive substances and surveillance work to understand the scale and nature of performance enhancing drug use. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The three year Substance Misuse Delivery Plan launched today sets out how the Welsh Government, Public Health Wales and other partner organisations will tackle the impact of substance misuse, including work to reduce the number of drug and alcohol-related deaths.
The plan also includes: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

work to reduce blood borne virus transmission amongst people with substance misuse problems
communications work to ensure more older people understand the health risks of substance misuse
increased collaboration between services so that people living with both mental health and substance misuse problems receive co-ordinated and effective support. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Minister for Social Services and Public Health Rebecca Evans said: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Substance misuse causes real harm to individuals, families and communities across Wales and tackling its devastating impact requires health, criminal justice, education, local government and partner organisations to work together. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Since 2008 when our 10 year Substance Misuse Strategy, ‘Working together to reduce harm’ was launched, we have seen sustained improvements in waiting times for drug and alcohol treatment and other outcomes for this vulnerable and hard to reach group, and it is vital that we maintain this momentum. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Every year we invest almost £50m in tackling substance misuse. We ran an extensive consultation exercise last year to ensure our latest delivery plan would make the most effective use of this money and we have taken on board the suggestions that came out of the process, including actions to ensure that services are accessible to everyone who might need to use them.
“Our new plan also includes recommendations from the previous Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiries into substance misuse and new psychoactive substances. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We want to ensure everyone can access the support and information that they need, to reduce the harm caused to individuals, their families and communities across Wales. This plan goes a long way in helping us achieve this.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​