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Home Office (South West) (Home Office) Bristol nursing team nominated for top award for tackling drugs A team of specialist nurses in Bristol has been nominated for a top award to celebrate their achievements in the field of tackling drugs. The three nurses, who work at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, have been nominated for one of the Home Office's Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards, which recognise, reward and celebrate the unsung heroes on the front-line who are working to tackle drugs and change lives every day. Sally Lewis, Rhiannon Mainwaring and Claire Hoggans, a team that has only been operating since March, have been nominated for their innovative work in supporting more than 100 illicit drugs users with all their healthcare needs. This includes liaising with agencies in the community to ensure that support is continued once the user is discharged from hospital. On discharge, clients are re-engaged with their GP and care worker. In some instances, the client's hostel is contacted to ensure their bed is not given away and they are not made homeless whilst in hospital. The team has provided the missing link between hospital and community drug organisations. Sue Jones, BRI's Head of Nursing, who nominated the team for the award, said: "This is a brand new, innovative team that came into being at the end of March. When Sally, Rhiannon and Claire started, they had to start from scratch and did not even have a desk or phone. They have organised everything themselves and have a huge caseload to contend with, covering 65 hours per week including out-of-hours times. "The team makes sure that the level of care provided to vulnerable patients with a history of drug use is the same quality provided to those who do not. This has had a huge impact for these hospital patients and their families as they know there is a specialist team to be their advocate. It also enables them to stay in hospital for the whole of their stay and reduces the self-discharges and 'revolving door' situation which, sadly, is common in hospital settings." There is still time for other organisations and individuals to be nominated for a Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Award. But the closing date - 31 August 2008 - is fast approaching, so potential award winners who have not yet applied are being asked to get their nomination forms in quickly. So far, nominations for teams and individuals from Bristol, Salisbury and Swindon have been received. They include people working in the health service, drug enforcement activity or professionals who counsel and treat drug users - all are eligible for the award scheme. The awards were launched by Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker, who said: "I know that drug workers and drug teams across the country are working tirelessly everyday to tackle drugs and change lives. In fact, I have met many people and teams who deserve to be nominated for these awards. "These awards recognise their inspirational examples, which will help us to realise our ambition of fewer people starting to use drugs and for our society to be free from the problems caused by illegal substances." Two awards are available, one for an individual and one for a team, each winner will receive £10,000 for their organisation to spend on the prevention or treatment of drug misuse. Anyone can nominate a drug worker or drug team whether they are a friend, family members, colleague or service user. The closing date for nominations is 31 August 2008. A panel of expert judges, chaired by the Home Office, will choose ten finalists, one from each of the nine government regions plus Wales. Two overall winners will then be chosen - an individual drug worker and a drug team. The winners will be announced towards the end of 2008 at a ceremony in London. NOTES TO EDITORS 1. Full information on the Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards 2008 and details of how to nominate can be found at http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/awards2008 2. For more on the Government's drug strategy, "Drugs: protecting families and communities" go to http://www.drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/ 3. The new Drug Strategy will: i. Protect communities through robust enforcement to tackle drug supply, drug-related crime and anti-social behaviour ii. Prevent harm to children, young people and families affected by drug misuse iii. Deliver new approaches to drug treatment and social re-integration iv. Deliver public information campaigns, communications and community engagement 4. Anyone can nominate a team or individual for an award: colleagues, family, community leaders, ex-service users - all are welcome to make a nomination. Nominees can work within any sector of the drugs field - prevention, education, treatment or enforcement. Practitioners from both the public and voluntary sectors are eligible. All nominees must work for a recognised organisation. |
