Harm reduction
- Providing clean needles and drug paraphernalia to injecting drug users, including steroid users
- Encouraging monitoring alcohol units via a drink diary and staying within safe alcohol unit guidelines
- Giving information on how to stay safe on a night out, whether drinking alcohol and/or taking drugs
- Giving information on how to stay safe when taking recreational drugs and so called ‘legal highs’
- Providing dry blood spot testing for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV plus vaccinations for Hepatitis B
If you would like any information or advice regarding the above, please contact us in confidence. Our Needle Exchange is also available for advice around safer injecting, to provide clean FREE injecting equipment and to offer dry blood spot testing and Hep B vaccinations.
Drug and alcohol outreach team
The drug and alcohol assertive outreach service significantly improves the re-engagement of clients dropping out of treatment services. The team also assist in the engagement of those most at risk of acute illness and early death, such as chaotic users and the homeless.
The assertive outreach service works with clients in a variety of settings to ensure maximum engagement and re-engagement with drug and alcohol treatment services.
- provide a flexible and creative approach to contacting and working with all clients who have dropped out of treatment services
- re-establish contact with clients who have a history of erratic or non-engagement with services or a history of erratic or non-compliance with treatment, or who have dropped out of treatment
- provide advice, support and guidance including the use of motivational interviewing techniques to encourage re-engagement with services
- engage clients who have disengaged by assessing and providing interventions to clients.
- encourage dependent drug and alcohol users who are not known to services to access appropriate substance misuse treatment and mainstream services
- work with acute and mental health hospital staff to transfer drug and alcohol-related hospital admission patients into Horizon.
- support Alcohol Liaison Nurse Service at BVH to link drug and alcohol clients into community services
- offer “in reach” to hospital wards to form a bridge between hospital and community services
- provide assertive outreach to street drinkers, providing support and advice and seek to engage street drinkers in treatment services.
- Collate data in relation to where street drinkers procure their alcohol to advise the public health licensing objectives.
- provide outreach service to clients who have been discharged from hospital and not presented for substance misuse treatment.
Our assertive outreach team consists of:
- Drug and alcohol assertive outreach
- Hep C outreach
- Housing outreach (drug and alcohol-specific)
To contact a member of the team, please telephone 01253 311431 or email outreach@ren-uk.com
