Treatment
Services:
There are five clinical teams which are multi disciplinary and which
typically work collaboratively with other service providers both within
the NHS family and other sectors. Clinical staff include doctors, nurses,
and therapists. All staff are trained to work with people who have an
addiction problem and all staff follow NHS rules on matters such as confidentiality.
If you need to find out where we are please see how
to find us.
Central Services
The Central Services Team provide rapid access to medical and nursing
care, brief psychosocial interventions, and referral to other care providers
if necessary. The essential task is to help people stabilise their substance
use and social circumstances as a preliminary to or time out from other
treatment. To this end the team can offer intensive intervention including
a 12 Step Day Programme. The Advice Line and the Partial Booking Clinic
for newly referred people are part of this service.
Mental Illness
Much of the work of the Mental Illness Team is on a shared care basis
with general psychiatrists. People who are described as suffering from
severe and enduring mental illness, that is conditions such as schizophrenia
or manic depressive disorder, need a general psychiatry team to take the
lead role while Addiction Unit therapists work collaboratively to deal
with the substance misuse problem. A smaller number of patients, typically
those suffering from anxiety or minor depression complicated by substance
use, can be seen exclusively within the Addiction Unit service.
Physical Illness
The team provide a substance misuse liaison service to St James’s
Hospital and the Leeds General Infirmary. In addition to helping with
an individual’s care while in hospital the team continue to see
people who have complex physical health and substance misuse needs when
they come out of hospital. Thus therapists ensure a seamless transfer
of care from the hospital to community setting where they can then work
on a shared care basis with primary care teams. Where appropriate the
team will refer on to other specialist substance misuse or social care
services.
Pregnancy and Parenting
The service for pregnant women is a partnership between the Addiction
Unit and the obstetric departments at St James hospital and the Leeds
General Infirmary. The Addiction Unit part of the service contributes
medical time, nursing time, and social work time: the latter has a key
role in co-ordinating child protection and substance misuse agencies.
The obstetric departments each have a drug liaison midwife who is specially
trained to work with pregnant women who use substances. The service has
been successful in attracting women who might otherwise have avoided contact
with services.
Criminal Justice
The Criminal Justice Team provide three distinct services. First, the
Arrest Referral Scheme – team therapists see people in police cells
when they have been arrested. The therapist may give one off advice or
information but can also see people when they have been released pending
attendance at treatment service. Second, the four Leeds Probation Hostels
have formed a partnership with the Addiction Unit and Burley Park Primary
Care Team to provide substance misuse treatment for hostel residents.
The unique hostel environment provides an opportunity to bring together
the input from probation staff and Addiction Unit therapists. Third, Drug
Treatment and Testing Orders are imposed by the courts as an alternative
to a prison sentence and a small team act to see people through these
orders. The essential role of the team is to ensure that people who are
subject to an order participate in one of the collaborating treatment
programmes and also to monitor compliance with the order. |
