- Target:
- Brighton And Hove Primary Care Trust
- Region:
- United Kingdom
I'm in severe need for some careful consideration to be shown to dual diagnosis clients that are currently residing in the city of Brighton And Hove.
Basically the term Dual Diagnosis covers a broad spectrum of both Mental Health and substance misuse problems that any individual might experience. The comparisons of the two conditions are complex but mostly consist of the following.
(A) A primary psychiatric illness precipitating or leading to substance misuse.
(B) Substance misuse worsening or altering the course of a psychiatric illness.
(C) Intoxication and substance dependence leading to complex psychological symptoms.
(D) Substance misuse and or withdrawal leading to psychiatric symptoms or illness.
Indeed it is important to remember that a high proportion of the most marginalised and disadvantaged people in society will be suffering from both mental health and substance misuse problems.
In fact incidences of Dual Diagnosis amongst the socially excluded will be higher than for the population as a whole and tends to act as a formidable barrier to social reintegration-and this problem is to complex for Brighton And Hove Primary Care Trust too want to account for.
And it is important to note that between a third and two thirds of people with mental health problems will also have drug and or alcohol problems.
Thirty per cent of rough sleepers also suffer from mental health problems with a further 20 per cent going on to misuse drugs.
The Housing Service Agency has estimated that over 20 per cent of rough sleepers have multiple needs.
Dual Diagnosis patients have complex needs and are amongst the most socially excluded in society.
Now the city of Brighton And Hove has one of the highest number of dual diagnosis cases per area in the whole of England. But Mr Darren Grayson from Brighton And Hove PCT was at pains too point out that Brighton And Hove has the highest budget per south east average. He obviously did not point out that Brighton And Hove does have a drug epidemic that does not reflect the funding that it receives from the PCT, and he also fails too point out that there are numerous of towns that span the breadth of the currently including some London boroughs that have lesser numbers of dual diagnosis problems per person but still manage to secure more funding than Brighton And Hove.
I did lobby my local mp [Celia Barlow} who said there was no more that she could do to improve the situation and that it was up to the local PCT. Alison Keating the local National Treatment Agency Co-ordinator said she was satisfied by the way in which Dual Diagnosis patients are treated within Brighton And Hove. This was despite me telling her of the recent suicides of Dual Diagnosis clients in the area, i found her response mildly arrogant and rather typical of a person that is completely removed of the people from whom she should be representing.
In fact if Ms Keating thought she was satisfied then i wonder why the local Green Party forced the Conservative run Brighton And Hove city Council to set up a scrutiny panel to discuss how the suicides and systemic failures on a local level could be avoided in the future. Sadly the scrutiny panel is only bringing about an escape route for the PCT too absolve from it's accountability.
In fact Mr. Scott commissioning manager in charge of funding for Dual Diagnosis at Brighton And Hove PCT promised councillor Keith Taylor at the Scrutiny panel that Dual Diagnosis projects will be given funding priority.
So too my surprise when i contacted Mr. Scott with a credible and cost effective way of funding a new project he promptly told me that there was too be know funding given for dual diagnosis projects at present and for the foreseeable future.
I hope you will join me in in condemning the PCT at Brighton And Hove for their systemic abuse of Dual Diagnosis clients within Brighton And Hove. Dual Diagnosis is much underfunded and misunderstood within Brighton And Hove your signatures will help bring about a change for the good.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Support Dual Diagnosis petition to Brighton And Hove Primary Care Trust was written by dan and is in the category Health at GoPetition.