Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to tackle the co-morbidity of drug addiction and mental health.

Commissioners and providers of services have a joint responsibility to work collaboratively to meet the needs of people with co-occurring conditions. Public Health England (PHE) has therefore developed guidance to support commissioning and provision of joined up services for people with a dual diagnosis of mental health and substance misuse problems. The guidance sets out principles for how services should work, including that each person should have access to a care co-ordinator to help ensure all their needs are addressed. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/people-with-co-occurring-conditions-commission-and-provide-services

PHE continues to support the ‘no wrong door’ approach when people present to services with co-occurring conditions. Commissioning guidance encourages services to respond collaboratively, effectively and flexibly offering compassionate and non-judgemental care centred around the persons needs which is accessible from every access point.