David Cullinane
Ceist:724. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health his plans for reform and investment in addiction treatment services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28686/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 6 October 2020
Ceisteanna (724)
Freagraí scríofa
The national drug strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery, is the Government roadmap for addressing drug and alcohol use. A key objective in the strategy is to attain better health and social outcomes for people who experience harm from substance misuse and meet their recovery and rehabilitation needs.
The HSE has developed a four tier person-centre model of rehabilitation based on the principle of a continuum of care, that allow the individual to access the range of supports they need to achieve their personal recovery goals. This integrated care pathway is the shared responsibility of a range of service providers.
Improving access to drug and alcohol services and extending the range of options available is integrate to achieving better outcomes. The strategy contains 15 actions which aim to reduce waiting times, provide more equity of access to services around the country and remove potential barriers to accessing treatment by those with complex needs.
The Department of Health provides over €130 million in funding to support the provision of drug and alcohol services by the HSE, voluntary drug and alcohol services and drug and alcohol task forces.
In 2019, there were 10,664 cases treated for problem drug use, of which a third were new cases, and a further 7,546 cases treated for problem alcohol use, of which 44 per cent were new cases.
Additional funding of €800,000 was provided to expand drug and alcohol services in 2020. This funding supports the expansion of addiction services for pregnant and post-natal women, the development of a community alcohol service in Galway and the provision of a residential treatment service for women and children in the mid-west region, among other measures. The full year costs for these additional services is over €2.1 million.
Covid-19 posed a major threat for people with drug addiction, especially for those who were homeless and those not in treatment. To address this risk, the HSE significantly improved access to opioid substitution treatment (OST) since January 2020. As a result, an additional 755 people were brought into treatment, an increase of 7 per cent.
In line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, I want to ensure that improved access to OST is mainstreamed within the health services. The allocation of additional resources for this and other drug and alcohol treatment services will be considered as part of the Estimates process.