Drugs service sacked for failures.

Drug workers Matthew Hibbert and Sean Manuel
DRUG treatment in Swindon,UK is undergoing an overhaul after the service failed national standards.
Swindon,UK Council has sacked former a drug service supplier while two new contractors have been brought in.

And the council predicts that failure to help drug addicts in the town will cost £57m per year at least in resulting crime as addicts seek their fix.

The service failed against a scoreboard which measured the number of new addicts treated, the retention of people in treatment and waiting times.

Swindon Council,UK's strategic development manager for substance misuse Matthew Hibbert said: "We didn't meet any of the targets set for us by the National Treatment Agency.

"Swindon,UK had treatment services before but there hasn't been co-ordination and structure between services. Drug services in Swindon,UK have grown up over time due to hard work and commitment. But we needed a system that was robust enough to meet national standards. Drug treatment has moved on."

Mr Hibbert says a major focus is heroin. "The biggest problem is heroin - it is connected to well-established criminal elements and linked to deprivation.

"Drug users are part of our community - they live in residential areas and they need this treatment."

The drug services revamp started more than a year ago and new contractors - DHI and Inclusion - are in the process of setting up in the town.

One major change is that there will now also be support for crack cocaine and crystal meth users.

Drop-in centres, outreach services that go out and find people who need help, and needle exchange will all be offered.

Adult substance misuse co-ordinator at the council Sean Manuel said: "People need to realise that it is people from Swindon,UK that have drug problems. These are real people - not a strange species. It is someone's daughter or son."

Mr Manuel says alcohol abuse is also a major problem in the borough, but the public are not as aware of its harmful effects.

Mr Hibbert said changes would mean drug-related crime would fall. "We believe that once our new services are established, they will become a beacon of excellence. We recognise there is enough support in Swindon,UK to deal with this." Swindon,UK and Wiltshire,UK Alcohol and Drugs Service (Swads) is one of the former services which will continue helping people in Swindon,UK but will now concentrate solely on alcohol.