A DRUG rehabilitation leader says work to reduce Middlesbrough’s high rate of substance deaths is “probably not” being felt yet in the figures.

Office for National Statistics data shows 19 people died of drug related deaths in Middlesbrough in 2020 – down from 24 in 2019. But Danny Ahmed, a clinical partner at substance abuse service Foundations, explained there was still work to be done to reduce drug fatalities in the town.

Asked whether there was a chink of light yet when it came to reducing drug-related deaths, he said there was “probably not”. “But I think we’re in the early days of the investment needed to start to turn these numbers around,” he said.

“A big drive of Project Adder – and the interventions – is to reduce those deaths, and this is a key intervention today to start to turn that around.” Project Adder, which stands for Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery, was initially a three-year scheme announced in January 2021 with Middlesbrough receiving £4.5m.

Extra cash has gone towards anti-drug nasal Naloxone kits for 150 officers in the town over the next six months as part of the intervention mentioned above. These help reverse the effects of opioid overdoses.

The Northern Echo:

Extra money from Project Adder helped fund this. And another scheme which has benefited from Adder cash is the Heroin Assisted Treatment scheme (HAT).

This allows drug users to inject medical grade heroin under supervision at the Foundations hub, on Acklam Road, while offering support to steer addicts away from substance misuse and address underlying trauma. Funding for the scheme was initially given by the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner in late 2019 – with this running out in September 2021.

Public health funding and cash from Adder was used to keep the programme going until the end of last month after commissioner Steve Turner signalled he didn’t want to fund it from the PCC budget. Mr Ahmed told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the project had funding to continue for now.

“It’s been very positive for the people who have taken part,” he added. When it came to the wider work of Project Adder, the Foundations leader believed it was going well from their organisation’s point of view.

Mr Ahmed added: “We’ve always strived to work in partnership but now we’ve got the space, time and the staff resources to be able to approach the problem in a more aggressive manner. For example, there is a new “harm-in” team which just didn’t exist five years ago.

“They’re there to support people to minimise the harm drugs do to individuals.” Middlesbrough Council has been contacted for more details on the future funding of HAT.

 

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