Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Rehabilitation

(asked on 30th January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction of NHS-operated drug and alcohol services on the training of psychiatrists; and what steps they are taking to address any shortfall in addiction-specialised psychiatrists.


This question was answered on 12th February 2020

No formal assessment has been made.

However, the Royal College of Psychiatrists is undertaking research to understand the issues with recruiting additional psychiatrists and how these might be resolved. The results of this work are due to be published imminently, and we will work with the Royal College of Psychiatrists to support them in taking forward any recommendations. This will form part of our efforts to meet our commitment in the Prevention Green Paper, Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s, to developing a shared understanding of the difficulties facing the wider substance misuse workforce. In addition, we are holding a United Kingdom-wide ministerial drugs summit on 27 February, launching the next phase of the Dame Carol Black Review, and developing an addictions strategy, all of which will pick up on this theme.

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