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EDITORIALS: Michael Farrell and John Strang Britain's new strategy for tackling drugs misuse BMJ 1998; 316: 1399-1400 [Full text]

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A Drug Information Strategy for Scotland

Ian Grant   (28 August 1998)

A Drug Information Strategy for Scotland 28 August 1998
Ian Grant Send response to journal: Re: A Drug Information Strategy for Scotland	Farrell and Strang's article on the development of a UK drugs strategy raises a number of crucial issues . They correctly point out that 'Good information that will reliably inform and guide strategy is lacking'. The increasing demand for information on drugs misuse has exposed the piecemeal nature of existing data. If information is to become a cornerstone to both the development and monitoring of policies and the planning and delivery of services, a coherent framework or strategy for information gathering and dissemination is crucial. This role for information was first addressed in Scotland by the 1994 report of the Ministerial Drugs Task Force 'Drugs in Scotland'- Meeting the Challenge' which noted that: "There is scope for improvements to be made in the collection of information about drugs misuse. Progress can be best made by a continuos process of seeking to improve the availability of reliable information, concentrating on what is required for policy development or delivery of services" (p11) Following on from the Task Force Report, a consultation process was undertaken with a wide range of bodies working in the drugs misuse field in Scotland. At the end of this period of consultation the Scottish Drugs Misuse Information Strategy was approved by the Scottish Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse and launched by the Scottish Office in April of this year . The strategy established the Information and Statistics Division of the NHS in Scotland as a focal point for drugs information, (including information on prevalence and effectiveness), for all the organisations involved in a multi-agency approach to tackling drug misuse. One of the key tasks in implementing the strategy also addresses another concern raised by Farrell and Strang. They called for a greater emphasis on and development of indicators of harm which 'might help to address some of the serious inadequacies of policy to date'. Considerable work has gone into developing such measures in Scotland. The Scottish Office guidance 'Planning and Provision of Drug Misuse Services' has set out a comprehensive list of key performance/activity indicators for drug misuse over a range of areas, including reported drug use, levels of methadone dispensing, school and business drug policies and prison related data. We acknowledge that not all the data required to support the key performance/activity indicators is available in an appropriate format, although the testing and refinement of all these indicators is ongoing. Regardless, however, of these uncertainties an opportunity now exists to develop an information resource that can be used to complement and enhance national strategic objectives in Scotland. This in turn may well contribute to a comprehensive information strategy within a UK context. Gregor McWalter Team Leader Ian Grant Senior Research Officer Drug Misuse Information Strategy Team, Information and Statistics Division, National Health Service in Scotland, Edinburgh