I would like to commend this conference to members. Its aimed at service users but prefessionals are welcome and necessary in order to create a vibrant debate.

this is the blurb from the alliance web site they said they would e-mail us the full details and we were going to put on the main site, but they haven't yet. when they do we will. In the meantime I'd thought I'd highlight it anyway

"The first DDN/Alliance service user involvement conference is taking place in January. This one-day event will bring together service users, politicians, DAT co-ordinators and treatment providers to make sure user involvement stays at the heart of drug treatment and policy. Speakers include service users from all over the country, Paul Hayes from the NTA and a Home Office minister (Vernon Coaker invited). The event will be interactive and produce a consensus statement to make sure essential service user issues are not lost in the turbulence of new drug strategy. This is an essential event for service users, DAT co-ordinators, service providers, and all those involved in service users' welfare.
Plus! Evening benefit gig featuring The Nightingales and special guests (to be announced) will raise funds for The Alliance - e: info@cjwellings.com. Please go to http://www.drinkanddrugs.net/Events/ConfBrochure_Booking05.pdf for conference brochure and booking form."

In may 2007 the NTA sponsored eleven service user representatives to go to the 18th IHRA conference to collect ideas that could be used in the U.K. read the report @

NTA - List of publications: Users and carers
http://www.nta.nhs.uk/publications/publications.aspx?CategoryID=20

All NTA publications can be downloaded from HYPERLINK www.nta.nhs.uk
To order additional copies of this report, complete the online order form at HYPERLINK
www.nta.nhs.uk Alternatively, email nta@prolog.uk.com or telephone
08701 555 455 and quote product code IHRA

Warm Regards

jimi
 
service user advocate
 
James Grieve chair of
N.U.N  www.nationalusernetwork.org
and the
Conference Consortium  www.conferenceconsortium.org
 

 

I can't see on the conference brochure where it is being held other than it says Birmingham, am I missing something?

Hi Simon

You have a fair point. It does not look like they have finalised the venue yet. I'm sure that they would give you more details if you contacted them. Sounds a good event though

Did anybody manage to get to this event? I would be very interested in feed back.

I was delighted to be there (along with half a dozen of my patients.. I found funding for them, but had to pay for my place myself, as us GPs don't have employers)
It was a very useful as well as enormously enjoyable day.. Over 600 people, the majority service users i think (if there were any other GPs there they were heavily disguised)

Paul Hayes said that its odd that 4 times more is spent of drug services than on alcohol services,when 10 times more people die with alcohol. He said it was because we (the audience) are all seen as a threat, because we go out robbing and thieving and giving people diseases.

He said (and we were reminded also by Glenda the wonderfully clear thinking Oxford User Team person and others) remember the Health and Social Care Act 2001, which enshrines the duty of all NHS services to involve service users.

One day cannot change the world, but it was certainly possible to feel the engagement across the country, and the anger and frustration as well. Being part of moving services to change is always a boringly slow job.

Also I sat as an observer in the NA meeting held afterwards, which was stunningly moving and impressive..my first experience of an NA meeting.

PS::
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2001/ukpga_20010015_en_2#pt1-pb4-l1g11

[Quote]:11 Public involvement and consultation (1) It is the duty of every body to which this section applies to make arrangements with a view to securing, as respects health services for which it is responsible, that persons to whom those services are being or may be provided are, directly or through representatives, involved in and consulted on—
(a) the planning of the provision of those services,
(b) the development and consideration of proposals for changes in the way those services are provided, and
(c) decisions to be made by that body affecting the operation of those services.
(2) This section applies to—
(a) Health Authorities,
(b) Primary Care Trusts, and
(c) NHS trusts.

nothing personal Judith but i am HORRIFIED to hear that someone as experienced, committed and influential (butter, butter) as you who has been working in the addictions field for a long time has never been to an NA meeting before. i'm in the process of trying work out how to build bridges between the recovery community and the professional community so it would be very interesting to know why. not wanting to intrude? fear of not being welcome? not feeling that you needed to learn anything about the fellowships? (for some of my colleagues i also sense a fear that someone will tell them they have to stop drinking/using/smoking/whatever - not you i'm sure! - but rest assured that will not happen.......) can you elaborate?

Yes well, there you are. Only 24 hours in the day is one reason I suppose. I have been meaning to go for the last couple of years, as I have become aware that several patients have benefited enormously.

I am not naturally drawn to looking for Higher Powers for answers, but I found the group meeting very powerful in its own right. I think the predicatable ritual and organised nature of the meeting which was clearly very familiar, though in an unusual setting , to this group of strangers gathered from all over the country. must contribute to its feeling of safety.

I do keep the local NA meeting times and dates on my desktop, and print them out regularly for patients who feel ready and able to find their way to one.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: judith yates,

mm. it isn't actually just the patients who benefit as it's an enormous worldwide 24-hour-available resource which can make our lives a lot easier and best of all, it's FREE!!!........but i'm beginning to come round to the view that handing someone a meeting list and leaving them to get on with it isn't enough and i need to do a bit more to help them engage. they will feel a lot less anxious and intimidated if they've spoken to a contact who will then physically take them. so what might be useful is for professionals to trot along to open meetings and build up their own list of contacts............i'm also working on some materials for professionals on how the programmes actually *work* - substitute dependency, clean social circle, re-parenting, that kind of thing - since it certainly wasn't something that ever came up in my training.......

AND it's approved by NICE!

Just to let you know NTA have a patinet info leaflet on 12-step in the pipeline I understand