Rhona Hunter Team Manager Jayne Reed Senior Community Mental Health Nurse

Why have a young person’s service? The evidence that we have about drug use demonstrates that it varies markedly according to age, with use of illegal drugs increasing substantially around age 15. The research review found that interventions were more effective the fewer pre-intervention problems there were for the drug user. This indicates that the sooner a person comes into treatment services, the better the outcome. Services for Young People with Problematic Drug Misuse, Effective Interventions Unit, Scottish Executive

Indeed the majority of young people who experiment with drugs cease use in adulthood with a minority exhibiting continued problems. However, others argue that any sustained use in adolescence predicts later use, and it is usually problematic in it’s own right. Health Advisory Service, The Substance of Young Needs, Review 2001

Who are these young people? The children and young people accessing the case study services typically faced a range of issues, not all of which would be related to drug misuse. The severity of drug misuse in itself can vary widely between services and individual cases. In the cases encountered or discusses with the key workers, there was a spectrum of use ranging from regular use of cannabis, often combined with alcohol, to smoking or injecting heroin on a daily basis. Poly-drug use could start from 11 or 12 in some cases. The findings were broadly consistent with data from prevalence studies based on surveys of year olds in Scottish schools. Drug Treatment for Young People, a research review, Effective Interventions Unit, Scottish Executive

Planning Services 1.An intervention should take account of the unique development needs of young people. 2.Services should be dedicated to children and young people. 3.The views of the young person are of central importance and need to be taken into account at all steps. 4.Services should promote children’s rights and welfare. Effective Interventions Unit, Scottish Executive

Key issues affecting the design & delivery of services 1.Child centred 2.Respecting and protecting of the rights of children and adolescents 3.Lawful 4.Respectful of family and child 5.Comprehensive 6.Integrated 7.Accessible 8.Effective, efficient and targeted 9.Competent Health Advisory Service, The Substance of Young Needs, Review 2001

Who are we? 1.We are a multi-disciplinary team with backgrounds in Social Work, Community Education, Nursing, Substance Use, Youth Work and Residential Child Care. 2.We have dedicated workers for “Looked After and Accommodated” young people. 3.We have recently advertised for a dedicated worker to work with young homeless people. 4.We have a Community Mental Health Nurse.

So what do we do at hype? Publicise widely We offer an easy referral route and an immediate response We are separate from adult services The care offered is integrated We encourage family work where possible We work across all substances, we don’t define the problem We have no lower age range – the youngest to date is 8 We offer outreach We offer one-off appointments or open ended contact. Young people need the option of being able to dip in and out of the service.

So what do we do at hype? (contd) We will write to our young people to remind them of their appointments and will phone or text on the day if they want this We offer food Our material is young people friendly, our assessment booklet is designed for young people and is holistic. The building is warm, friendly and welcoming. We offer confidentiality within a child protection framework. We give young people our Rights and Responsibilities leaflet. We work in partnership with NHS Lothian