Bulletins

Bulletins: Update: 16.3.08

This unique section is a bulletin board for the Drugs and related fields. Any important information that may be locally or nationally relevant can be posted here. This is an opportunity to get news and information from the front-line to other workers quickly.

The section will be updated as and when new information is received. So if you have information that needs to be shared with other workers please contact KFx and it will be posted as soon as possible.

APCDLO 8th Annual Conference
9th–10th September 2008
Hilton Hotel, Blackpool

This is the eighth successive annual conference for the APCDLO, which is attended by delegateseach year from all over the UK.

It is anticipated that approximately 250 delegates will attend this year’s conference. These
representatives are from all major organisations involved in both the regulation and management of controlled drugs in the community including the Police Service, Healthcare Commission, Department of Health, Home Office, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, MHRA, National Pharmaceutical Association, General Medical Council, Primary Care, Secondary Care, the Independent Sector and major pharmaceutical suppliers as well as Accountable Officers, Chemical Liaison Officers and Expert Witnesses.

For the latest conference information please visit
www.apcdlo.org.uk
or contact the Conference Secretariat,
Procon Conferences Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 1423 564488
Fax: +44 (0) 1423 701433
Email: lindsayc@procon-conferences.co.uk

New directions in street homelessness: A good practice seminar
These seminars are organised by Shelter’s Good Practice Unit (GPU), established in 2006 to help support other agencies and professionals to improve their services for homeless and badly housed people. The GPU runs a series of regional seminars and events throughout the year, and showcases the work of other organisations each February at its national good practice conference.

Aims of each seminar: The GPU will be presenting its innovative work, new thinking and information on the latest developments to enable professionals working with homeless people who have complex needs, to do so more effectively.

Dates: 11 March 2008 (Manchester) or 25 March 2008 (London)

Fees: First delegate rate £75 (+ VAT). Book two places for £130 (+ VAT).

The 'Spectrum of Possibility' - A Guide for Housing Providers
Norfolk Drugs and Alcohol Partnership -
Norcas Consultancy

2007: 40pp: 683kb

It's not often that a guidance document comes along that is so good, so spot on and so well put together that you want to punch the air and utter exclamations. Too often, in the course of writing and finalising a document, the writers (or the commissioners) shy away from an unpalatable recommendation, or pull their punches.

This is not the case here. The report, written by Norcas Consultancy and produced and finalised by Norfolk Drug and Alcohol Partnership doesn't hide its conclusions, fudge its core messages or obfuscate at all. It is clear, concise, powerful and direct. It says that a range of provision is required for drug users at different stages in the cycle of change. It describes what these different models look like. It endorses a model of managed use on site. And recognises that a one-size fits all and exclusionary models are equally ill-considered.

The report is intended to be used for local agencies and commissioners within Norfolk, but the document can and should be essential reading beyond the county.

It is quite simply the best report that has dropped in to the KFx In-box in a long time and the courage and steadfastness of both Norcas and the Drug and Alcohol Partnership in bringing it to completion are to be commended.

You can either download the report from within the Drugs and Housing website here or visit the Norfolk DAT website here.

Drug Testing in the Workplace
A Pilot Study on trace-detection technology
Kay Lumas
2007
VDM Verlag Dr. Muller
ISBN: 978-3-8364-1986-4
252 pp, softcover

Given the rise in drug-testing generally and Ion Trace technology specifically, critical analysis of the technology and its implementation are essential.

Having identified this gap in the research, Kay Lumas undertook a pieced of qualitative research, focussing on American truck-drivers, to explore the use of Ion Track testing and specifically the impact of false positive tests.

The book is an interesting read from a number of perspectives: from a UK perspective, it is interesting to look at the proliferation of drug-testing in the workplace legislation. One cannot help but feel that mandatory drug testing, for public employees in non-critical settings, cannot be far away if the US example is anything to go by.

The book also provides a synopsis of theories about drug dependency and drug misuse (although in fairness experienced drugs workers with an understanding of dependency may well want to skip these sections).

As the book was originally a piece of academic research, there is extensive consideration of the methodology, and the research practice issues which will be of interest to social scientists. This highlights the difficulty in recruiting a sample of people who have had a positive drug test, who wanted to be involved in such research

The research has, however, been let down by the publisher. No attempt has been made to redo the typesetting, so the document is laid out like a thesis - double spaced with little use of clear paragraph breaks or clear headers. This makes it a harder book to read than necesary.

The book has been inadequately proofed - the typo pubic/public crops up no less than three times!

And, from my point of view, I would have liked a greater consideration of the technology and its reliability, with less emphasis on the methodology and social history.

However, Dr Lumas has completed a valuable piece of research that should form a valuable contribution to future debate on this subject.

For a wider consideration of Drug Testing, and the use of IonTrace technology, see the additional commentary in the BLOG