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Quality Development Team Programme gets underway with regional launch events
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1 December 2009
SCOTTISH Drugs Forum’s innovative National Quality Development Programme – supported by Big Lottery Fund – has been launched.
This new initiative aims to provide practical help and assistance to drug treatment and rehabilitation agencies across Scotland, so they are better placed to assist the recovery of people with drug problems.
An experienced team of four has been recruited to work with staff and service users in all areas of Scotland on the issues and concerns that are important to them, helping in the practical development of a holistic approach to drug treatment over the next five years.
The Programme aims to provide individually tailored support for services to encourage best practice and staff development including through service development work, identifying training needs, and access to service user involvement resources
A series of events to introduce the new Team and how it hopes to support both statutory and voluntary sector drug services in Scotland with this free programme will be held in
- Edinburgh - Monday, 14th December; 1.30pm - 4.30pm, Melting Pot, 5 Rose Street, EH2 2PR (lunch at 1.30pm)
- Aberdeen - Thursday, 17th December; 11am – 3pm, in the Aberdeen Arts Centre, 33 King Street, AB24 5AA (lunch at 1pm)
- Glasgow – Friday, 29th January; 1pm – 4.30pm, SDF offices, 91 Mitchell Street, Glasgow G1 3LN (lunch at 1pm)
The Programme should be of interest to anyone with a management/supervisory role or who is involved in service planning/commissioning/quality.
You can book a place by
downloading a flyer here or contacting Rhona Mackay, National Quality Development Facilitator, tel 0131 221 9300 or 07825 743903 or email Rhona@sdf.org.uk
If you are unable to attend the event but would like support from the Team or if you would like a presentation at a multi-agency group, please contact Biba Brand - National Quality Development Manager, tel 0141 221 1175 email biba@sdf.org.uk
National Quality Development Team – staff details
Heading the Team is National Quality Development Manager Biba Brand, who has transferred from her previous post as SDF’s West of Scotland Regional Manager. Biba was a secondary school teacher prior to joining the social care field 13 years ago. She was initially involved in children and families work and counselling before joining SDF, where she was active in employability before moving to her managerial post.
As SDF’s West of Scotland Regional Manager, Biba has been involved in working with many voluntary and statutory sector bodies to help promote best practice and represent voluntary sector interests.
She played a key role in initiating what was to become the highly successful Glasgow Naloxone pilot, which has paved the way of similar projects being rolled out across Scotland and which have the strong support of Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing. She has also recently conducted some of SDF’s ground-breaking research into the needs of older drug dependents, which is part of a wider European research programme, and is currently studying for an MSc in Public Health
Biba will be based in SDF’s office in Mitchell Street, Glasgow tel 0141 221 1175 or email: biba@sdf.org.uk
Neil Stewart comes on board as Quality Development Facilitator.
Neil has extensive experience working in the voluntary drug sector in Edinburgh over the past 24 years. Most recently he was manager of the Castle Project, a community based drug service in the South East of Edinburgh offering, counselling, advice and information on drug and related issues.
Neil has been involved in the development of various services and key achievements recently have been the creation of a young people’s drug education and support service and an integrated community-based prescribing service.
He is based at SDF’s offices at 139 Morrison Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8AJ tel 0131 221 9300 or email: neil@sdf.org.uk.
Rhona Mackay also joins as National Quality Development Facilitator. Rhona, who moves to SDF from hype, the young people’s drug service in Edinburgh where she was Manager.
A qualified social worker, Rhona spent 16 years in the statutory child care field before moved to the voluntary sector and hype. This service was a multi-disciplinary service and was a partnership between NCH (now Action for Children) and Lothian NHS.
Rhona has post graduate certificates in Child Protection Studies and in Social Services Leadership. She was a member of the steering group of Lloyds Partnership Drug Initiative and a Board member of Scottish Drugs Forum before taking up her post in the new national Quality Development Team. Rhona will also work out of SDF’s offices in Edinburgh, tel 0131 221 9300 or email: Rhona@sdf.org.uk
Joan Currie takes up the post of the team’s part-time National User Involvement Officer, where she will host service user consultations and monitor improvements in service delivery from the service user perspective.
Joan moves from the SDF-managed post of UI Development Officer with Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Service User Involvement Partnership. Previously Joan was Development Officer for SDF’s Glasgow User Involvement Group and she has extensive experience of working with and promoting the voice of the service user, including through arranging peer research and building the capacity of service users.
Joan will work out of SDF’s Glasgow offices tel 0141 221 1175 or email: joan@sdf.org.uk
If you would like to discuss how SDF can help your service to increase its potential, contact one of the team via the details given above.