Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to promote dual diagnosis for patients with both addiction and mental health problems.

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.