Peer mentoring
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Lies, damned Lies, and statistics
Harnessing service user activism is the key to stopping drug
and alcohol services sliding further down the list of ‘targeted
outcomes’, says Martyn Cheesman
The world of substance misuse is changing – it’s a
case of ever-decreasing circles. The government drug
strategy of 2010 outlined the need for a recoveryfocused model of treatment and services have been
trying to adapt ever since. Don’t get me wrong, the
need for a focus on recovery was long overdue; but
how can we accurately measure outcomes in an
environment that demands instant gratification on
dwindling budgets? The big issue is that no single
model of recovery is definitive and many of the
models that currently exist are no more than a
remould of those that have come before them.
So let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
Treatment providers are regularly delivering
ineffective services that are designed predominately
to achieve targeted outcomes, as opposed to
supporting the individual needs of service users. The
concept of a person-centred approach has
unfortunately become more of an ideal than an
actual reality, and while there are great managers and
service providers delivering creative and innovative
projects and programmes out there, ultimately when
it comes to commissioned services their hands are
tied with the shackles of statistical outcomes.
It is also fair to point out that there is little gain in
pointing the finger of blame here. Commissioners
have limited resources to employ services and service
providers can only present models based on the
resources on offer. The sad truth is that social care is
woefully underfunded and substance misuse is at
the bottom of the pile.
There is a temptation here to concede defeat to the
16 | drinkanddrugsnews | December 2016
problems that the substance misuse field currently
faces. However, if we remain in the mindset of
solution focus, austerity can provide an opportunity
for positive change. The sticking point is the current
trend of risk aversion that dampens creativity and
hinders development. The one thing I have learnt in
my 11 years working in the field is that risk can be
assessed and to a reasonable level calculated.
I have been fortunate over the past year to have a
service manager that believes that taking wellcalculated risks to further develop creative
interventions can breed favourable outcomes, both
statistically and tangibly for service users. It takes
bravery and a pioneering spirit, but genuine
outcomes that benefit communities and individuals
are achievable while satisfying the statisticians.
What is required is a collective focus on improving
interventions to meet the needs of individuals, by
genuinely consulting service users – not just as a
supplement to designing services but actually
involving them in the fabric of the design process.
Not all interventions require financial resources, in
fact sometimes quite the opposite. I frequently find
in my day-to-day working environment that such
incentives often hinder progress or limit
interventions under the banner of what an
organisation is paid to deliver.
Over the past year I have been coordinating
volunteers and peer mentors in the Medway towns
for Turning Point. Medway has a significant
percentage of its population involved with substance
misusing behaviour and, it is fair to say, we are a very
busy service. The team of volunteers I manage
contribute countless hours, selflessly supporting our
service users to access treatment, and have been
extremely successful in doing so. What drives them is
the passion to see others succeed, promoting recovery
and mutual aid to benefit their own community,
without the need of a pay cheque at the end of it all.
I am continually amazed and buoyed by their
efforts and I believe they set an example that is so
often overlooked; a sense of community wellbeing.
Over the coming year we will be working with this
team of volunteers to secure independence from
substance misuse services, supporting them to set up
a recovery community in the Medway towns that can
survive the inevitable commissioned contract
changes and the invariable reinvention of the wheel.
There is a quote attributed to British prime
minster Benjamin Disraeli that states ‘there are three
kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics’. If we
continue to ‘let the cart lead the horse’, we are only
going continue to dilute our ability to achieve
genuine outcomes. There are two key elements
fundamental to supporting successful recovery that
many modern substance misuse services currently
lack – empathy and compassion. It’s not that
structured services are not important; however,
investing in volunteer programmes as part of service
provision would go a long way to bringing some
balance back to services that are currently on offer,
and one step closer to better outcomes for all.
Martyn Cheesman is peer mentor and volunteer
coordinator at Medway Active Recovery Service
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