Gary Wallace (Public Health Specialist, PCC) delivered a presentation on the ‘Plymouth Substance Misuse Needs Assessment’ to the Board, and highlighted the following points-

a)     There had been a tight timetable set by national Government to produce a quantitative Substance Misuse Needs Assessment as part of the new national strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’, which Plymouth had met however, Plymouth was are it needed to conduct further qualitative research to understand the anomalies it had revealed;

b)    While still in draft format, the report had identified that Plymouth’s cohort of people in treatment or in need of treatment were older, sicker and required longer term treatment, than the England average. This was largely due to Plymouth being a greater deprived area than the national average however, Plymouth’s performance was relatively in-line with its statistical neighbours;

c)     There was a particular issue within the peninsula, with the estimated prevalence of Primary Crack Cocaine use;

d)    53% of new presentations had reported behavioural and emotional disability, and 11% had reported progressive disability, compared to the England average of 17% and 4% retrospectively. Devon had also reported similar statistics, but the cause was still unknown;

e)     People entering treatment for prescription and ‘over the counter’ use drugs in Plymouth was high above the England average, recorded at 52% and 14% retrospectively. While this included addiction to drugs legitimately prescribed by a doctor, there had been a significant increase in ‘grey market’ purchases’;

f)      ‘From Harm to Hope’ was launched nationally in 2021 as part of a 10 year strategy in response to Dame Carol Black’s report findings. It had been found that treatment had significantly contracted in the past decade, specialist roles had been lost, caseloads and demand were high, capacity could not meet demand, drug related deaths were at record levels, and that the current provision for prevention, treatment and recovery was not fit for purpose;

g)     While the strategy required many targets to be met by local authorities, Plymouth would be receiving an additional £2.4 million over 3 years to undertake the work. There was a national target to increase the number of people in treatment by 20% by 2025;

h)    A new Local Drug Partnership had been established to set local plans, oversee performance and evaluate progress to provide a local strategic focus;

i)      Plymouth was recognised as having a higher than average penetration of the problem cohorts, which would lead to increased difficulty attaining the 20% target increase set nationally. Plymouth was therefore reliant on targeting cohorts who were not currently as well served, such as people in treatment for non-opiates, people in treatment for alcohol, and young people;

j)      By 2025, Plymouth would have 55 new posts in the drug and alcohol treatment system, including more doctors, pharmacists, nurses, drug workers, alcohol workers, dual diagnosis workers, recovery workers, peer workers, and trainers for workforce development;

k)     Plymouth scored double the England average for drug related deaths, at 10 per 100,000 and double for alcohol deaths in treatment at 3.27 per 100,000;

In response to questions from the Committee, it was reported that-

l)       Everyone in Plymouth who injected opiates was offered free Naloxone and provided education and training on its use, to combat the effects of opioid overdose. This offer was extended to relatives, recognised drug using groups, hospitals and emergency services. Plymouth was above the national average for Naloxone provision;

m)   There was a single point of contact through the alliance, for Councillors to contact for advice and out of hours signposting for residents. Signposting of relevant services was also available through the Plymouth Online Directory;

The Board thanked Gary Wallace for the report, and agreed to-

1) Note the contents of the report;

2) Note the formation of the Plymouth Drug Strategy Group;

3) Invite biannual updates on the progress of the strategy implementation.