« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Summary of actions
PROTECTION AND CONTROLS
In licensed premises
1. We will work with partners to support and extend the current test purchasing pilot on alcohol to all areas of Scotland.
2. Through the new licensing proposals, we will give Licensing Boards more power to control the spread of licensed premises and tackle excessive and underage drinking. Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 fully implemented by 2009.
3. We will work with partners, including the National Licensing Forum, to provide early guidance on the issue of over provision to help Licensing Boards tackle over supply.
4. We will continue to support the development of the new National Entitlement Card used in conjunction with Young Scot branding and the Proof of Age Standards Scheme ( PASS) proof of age logo.
5. The AFS ServeWise programme will aim to train a further 3000 people in responsible serving practice each year.
In the community
6. We will fund the appointment of a National Licensing Officer to support local Licensing Boards and Forums in ensuring the public health and community engagement opportunities, available under the new Licensing legislation, are fully realised.
7. We will combat alcohol-related crime and disorder, through a range of new police powers.
With the UK Government
8. We will work at Ministerial and official level with the UK Government and, where appropriate, the European Union, to develop actions which encourage the promotion of responsible drinking; develop approaches to product labelling; and address concerns about irresponsible advertising and marketing by the alcohol industry.
PREVENTION AND EDUCATION
General information and communication
9. We will make a range of information about the short and long-term consequences of drinking alcohol available to the public, with a national suite of publications completed by mid 2007.
10. We will extend successful measures from the Alcohol Education Research Council ( AERC) funded culture change pilot to other areas of Scotland.
11. We will continue to work with partners to implement a national communication strategy to highlight the nature and extent of alcohol problems and promote healthy living in Scotland.
12. We will publish an annual statement which sets out the aims and objectives of national communications work for the coming year and how Executive action will integrate with local Alcohol and Drug Action teams ( ADATs) and the communications activity of NHS Health Scotland ( HS), the Scottish Drugs Forum ( SDF), AFS and the Drinkaware Trust.
13. We will consider and utilise the best available research evidence about the relationship between drinking, smoking and drug use, particularly by young people.
14. We will continue to provide publicity support for drink driving enforcement campaigns undertaken by Scotland's police forces through the Scottish Road Safety Campaign, and seek ways of integrating these messages within our alcohol communications strategy.
In schools, workplaces and the community
15. We will use the recommendations in the Executive commissioned evaluation of effectiveness of drugs education in Scottish schools to develop an alcohol education programme as part of a wider, robust substance misuse education programme for schools.
16. We will continue to promote the development of Youth CAFEs (Community Alcohol Free Environments) and other diversionary initiatives for young people.
17. We will work with the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives to provide guidance to employers on developing and implementing effective alcohol policies.
18. We will pilot a media literacy programme in schools to help young people critically appraise information from different media sources.
19. We will work with representatives of Scottish retailers to explore the responsible marketing of alcohol in the off-sales environment.
20. We will develop a partnership with the alcohol industry and the licensed trade that addresses public health concerns by jointly promoting responsible drinking messages.
21. We will fund Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems ( SHAAP); a recently established group that will raise awareness and understanding of alcohol problems with practitioners, policy makers and the public; identify and promote interventions and solutions based upon best evidence; and disseminate information on alcohol harm to health.
22. We will work alongside Young Scot and NHSHS to explore opportunities for engaging with Young Scot membership on alcohol communications activity at national level; and consider how the national entitlement card - sponsored by Young Scot - might be used to support culture change activities that tackle the issue of excessive drinking.
PROVISION OF SERVICES
Nationally
23. We will work with partners across the drug and alcohol fields to develop a quality standards framework for drug and alcohol services in Scotland.
24. We will, during the next three years, assess the impact and cost effectiveness of expenditure, target new funding at filling service gaps and work with ADATs to consider opportunities for re-prioritisation.
25. We will explore through Scottish Training on Drugs and Alcohol ( STRADA), NHS Education for Scotland ( NHSNES), NHS Quality Improvement Scotland ( NHSQIS), Addictions Education Scotland ( AES) and NHS  HS the funding of a national training resource to support implementation of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network ( SIGN) and Health Technology Assessment ( HTA) on the prevention of relapse guidelines, developing and commissioning an audit of existing implementation by spring 2007.
26. We will reinforce the expectation that SIGN and HTA guidance underpins all activity delivered within NHS Boards. We will incentivise GPs to manage harmful drinking and alcohol dependence in primary care and to prevent relapse. This includes NHS Board Local Delivery Plans and measures through General Medical Services ( GMS).
In primary and secondary care settings
27. We will monitor the number of NHS Boards commissioning an enhanced service for alcohol misuse and the take up of services by those practices providing this enhanced service.
28. NHSQIS, in conjunction with The Scottish Trauma and Audit Group ( STAG), are carrying out an audit of patients presenting in A&E departments with an alcohol component to their condition. This will develop a focus for statistical information and explore subsequent pathways to care beyond the A&E intervention.
29. We will consider and, if appropriate, introduce the recording of waiting times for access to alcohol services and ensure this forms part of a national accountability framework for alcohol services.
30. Working with NHSQIS, NES, STRADA and NHSHS, we will ensure that both the SIGN and HTA guidelines are translated into a series of priority actions for use by health professionals in the delivery of primary and secondary care services.
31. We will develop a research project to assess the impact of alcohol interventions on the overall Keep Well Programme target group.
In the community
32. We will pilot, in 2007/2008, a telephone based brief intervention service that will aim to apply the principles of the SIGN guideline, opportunistically identifying harmful or hazardous drinkers at an early stage, and providing appropriate support.
33. We will commission research into practices used for capturing data on problem drug and alcohol use in pregnancy to improve methods for data capture, input and reporting. Report anticipated July 2007.
34. We will strengthen links between alcohol and mental health in relation to wider substance misuse issues, developing guidance for joined-up services by spring 2007.
35. We will support and evaluate a pilot project in Dundee, exploring how services can best meet the multiple and complex needs of women (and their children) affected by substance misuse (including alcohol) and domestic abuse.
36. We will support and evaluate a pilot project in the deprived areas of Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, exploring how services can best meet the multiple and complex needs of deaf people with alcohol problems by developing specialist counselling services for this severely disadvantaged group.
37. We will explore whether the pilot study looking at Drinking Interventions in Pharmacies can be rolled out nationally as a future activity within the scope of the public health service element of the new community pharmacy contract.
38. We will raise the profile of the Drinkline service by working with partner agencies to feature the telephone helpline number on all "topic specific" alcohol publications in Scotland as well as on a national Scottish alcohol information website.
39. We will support ADATs, AFS and others in raising the profile of alcohol agencies and issues amongst equality and diversity groups.
40. We will work with partners to develop and implement a strategy for the provision of places of safety within Scotland.
41. We will ensure that ADATs work with Jobcentre Plus, the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives and NHS Condition Management Practitioners in supporting people with alcohol problems, who want to and are able to, to find employment or return to work.
42. We will explore how local Councils on Alcohol can be more fully utilised in the delivery of harm prevention and reduction programmes at local level.
GETTING THE FRAMEWORK RIGHT
Structures
43. We are undertaking a stock-take of ADATs to assess their performance to date and their capability to deliver Ministerial priorities on drugs and alcohol. This should establish a firm evidence base, using the principles of best value, to determine the future mechanism for effective local action to deliver national priorities. The stock-take will be completed by May 2007.
44. We will work with NHSHS and NHS Boards to further refine the operational and strategic relationship between ADATs and Community Health Partnerships ( CHPs).
45. We will ensure NHS Board delivery plans reflect the links between alcohol problems and homelessness and monitor the implementation of Health and Homelessness Standards.
Information and evaluation
46. We will work with partners to develop a national accountability framework for alcohol services in Scotland.
47. We will work with the National Alcohol Information Resource at ISD to provide key statistics and information on alcohol use and problems.
48. We will develop a range of indicators to help assess the progress made in changing alcohol cultures and tackling alcohol problems as well as developing specific evaluation arrangements in relation to the delivery of services.
49. We will publish an alcohol research programme in early 2007 and will consider best practice from home and abroad that can inform future policy and service delivery.
Training
50. We will work with partners to develop a co-ordinated national drugs and alcohol workforce development strategy by late 2008, and develop an implementation plan for the strategy by spring 2009.
« Previous | Contents | Next »