Treatment for drug addicts (FOI)

Request

A

Are Class A and B drugs being administered to drug addicts in the hospital?

B

If so, why is this and when did it start?

C

How much has this cost the taxpayer to date?

Response

A and B

Opiate substitution treatment (OST) is offered through Health and Community Services to those with opiate dependence. More information can be found on www.gov.je at the following link:

Help with opiate addiction (gov.je)

The Health and Social Services Committee Substance Misuse Strategy 1999 to 2004 (lodged 26 October 1999) references the implementation of a pilot drug substitution programme to be delivered locally using a ‘shared care philosophy’ by the Alcohol and Drug Service in conjunction with general practitioners and community pharmacies.

​P.168/1999.pdf (gov.je)​

C

Records are not held in a format that can readily report the cost for OST from inception to date. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

Many factors can influence the costs of providing treatment, including number of people receiving treatment at any given point, variance in individual treatment regimens, and the procurement costs of the medicaments.

Opiate substitution treatment costs for the current service user cohort total £866.02 per day, when all are being treated.

This will fluctuate according to individual need and treatment stability. 

Article applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.