Scottish Drugs Forum
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21st March 2003
Drug Action Teams should address the issue of waiting times for drug treatment and care services as a matter of priority.
They should ensure that they have the mechanisms in place to address and monitor waiting times in their areas.
They will be required to report on the work undertaken and the waiting times for individual services as part of this year's corporate planning arrangements.
The Substance Misuse Division of the Scottish Executive has written to all DAT chairs to outline action being taken by the Executive and the action required of DATs to reduce waiting times which, in many parts of the country, remain unacceptably long
The letter states: "Such a situation carries inevitable risks for clients who might be dissuaded from continuing to seek treatment and has to be addressed as a matter of priority if we are to meet our shared ambitions of improving the accessibility and availability of care services."
Integrated Care for Drug Users - Principles and Practice, published in October 2002, sets out action that should be undertaken by DATs and local service planners and providers to minimise waiting times, manage waiting lists, and develop contingency plans to identify and manage potential waiting list problems.
DATs need to make sure that they have mechanisms to address and monitor waiting times for clients in their areas.
They are also required to indicate the work that they are undertaking on reducing waiting times within their corporate action plans for 2003-2004 and, as last year, to indicate the current lengths of waiting times for all services within their areas.