Many people on probation in England have a substance misuse problem - this could be with drugs or alcohol or both, and is often combined with a mental illness (dual diagnosis)

• In Weston-Super-Mare and other parts of England, substance misuse services are provided by Addaction
• The service has  trained staff that provide assessment, counselling and prescriptions

 Referral Routes

• The service can be accessed by:
  • Probation staff completing a form supplying basic information about an individual
  • GPs
  • Self-referral - here individuals will be assisted by Addaction workers to complete a registration form

 Information Sharing

 Signposting

• In addition, Addaction workers can also facilitate access to mental health services for service users

• People can sign a consent form so that Addaction workers can share information with probation about things like whether they attend appointments and whether they test positive or negative for drugs

• Problems with motivation and transient lifestyles can often form barriers to service access for people on probation - they miss an appointment and have to start the referral process all over again
• However, Addaction will continue to work with people that fail to attend appointments

The wait between referral, being assessed and receiving a prescription is relatively short, which helps to keep people motivated to become abstinent

 Specialist Housing

• Addaction also have a small amount of specialist 'dry' housing where those engaging with the service and testing negative to drugs can have temporary residency