Morning, I'm in the process of applying for a post as Shared Care Liaison Nurse and am attempting to compile a presentation. I'm looking for any data/statistics relating to the benefits - or otherwise - to the client of being maintained in shared care as opposed to 'traditional' treatment agencies. Any help/links/references would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks...

Hi Smithy---loads of advice/info,having advertised/recruited our team---having a half day 'Shared Care One Year On' event on 22.9.05.
Easier to speak rather than write a marathon email.
Ring me on 07721 331749/01902 822882 sometime to discuss.
George

For a good alround explanation try reading 'care of drug users in general practice' by Berry Beaumont.

Also I'm sure theres loads of stuff on our main site related to this.

theres all the usual valid reasons such as hoistic general health care. Family medicine, less stigma, convenience, drug users prefer it etc. However my guiding principle is that I want to see drug using patients treated like anyother NHS patient group where you get referred to a specialist (or a GP with a special interest) to have you condition stabilised (if it is acute enough to warrant this)and ongoing care is provided in general practice. Thats what primary secondary and tertiary care is all about. All other patient groups would expect this.

jim

Thanks........slowly starting to get information together, if I'm successful, I owe this board a 'virtual' pint......!!

I suppose NTORS (National treatment outcomes study) is the classic British study, following 1000 odd people from 1995-2000. Of course it is now 5 years old, so needs doing again i suppose. However they found to their surprise that the excellent results (less deaths, less crime, less blood borne virus infection,etc) they saw associated with higher dose Methadone maintenance therapy were seem in primary care based centres just as much as in specialist services (surprise-surprise.. we all knew that , but this was a secondary care originating study and they were surprised by their own outcomes, i believe) They are the ones who said that if £1 is spent on drug services it will save £3 in criminal justice service, a sum which seemed to supprt loads of money pouring into DTTOs, DIP etc. .

aye, and when i worked in the prison service!the average price per prisoner, per year was £30k

I believe ease of access to contraception deserves a special mention, and dressings too. There is some evidence that prmary care has superior immunisation uptake too, and in rural areas, accessibility is important (our most outlying patients travel 14 miles one way to see us)

susi

yes our new emis template does have contraception advice stuff on it. One of our Doctors is a whizz with family planning and keen to do some of the implanon stuff which he is trained to do, i just need to steer him a bit more to doing the rcgp course. He hasn't yet realised this is his vocation, but lucky he has me to do this lol.