We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for the Performance Recovery Award at this year’s HSJ Awards, along with our partners in the Hepatitis C Drug Treatment Services (DTS) Provider Forum.

The HSJ Awards recognise the outstanding contributions made to healthcare across the UK and showcase these achievements on a national platform.

The Hepatitis C Drug Treatment Services (DTS) Provider Forum has been nominated for its ‘Hepatitis C Virus Screening in Drug Treatment Services’ initiative, which aims to eliminate Hepatitis C from UK drug and alcohol services by the end of 2023.

Membership of the Provider Forum includes a collection of the UK’s leading drug and alcohol service providers and The Hepatitis C Trust. The group’s members have been working together to implement a collaborative reporting and monitoring approach in Hepatitis C test and treat data.

Marlon Freeman, Hep C Coordinator at WDP said: “Raising awareness of Hepatitis C and the very real potential to eliminate it is key to delivering the ambitions of this project. We’re really proud of the partnership and what has been delivered so far. Being shortlisted for this award provides another important platform to promote this life-saving initiative.”

HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, adds; “On behalf of all my colleagues, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate Hepatitis C Drug Treatment Services (DTS) Provider Forum on being shortlisted as a finalist in the category of ‘Performance Recovery Award’. We’re all very much looking forward to welcoming our finalists to the awards ceremony in November, celebrating their impressive achievements and jointly acknowledging our values of sharing best practice, improving patient outcomes and continuously driving for better service.”

The full list of nominees for the 2022 HSJ awards can be found at awards.hsj.co.uk.

WDP welcomes the publication of a national adult drug and alcohol treatment commissioning quality standard by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID). These new standards were one of the key recommendations of the second part of Dame Carol Black’s review of drugs and were agreed by the government and included in the recent drug strategy.

As a third sector provider of recovery treatment and support services and a member of the expert advisory group that helped shape this framework, we are grateful to have been involved in the consultation and to have had the opportunity to share our views and experience of the breadth of activities carried out by local commissioning teams. A recognition that an effective tendering process is just one part of the wider commissioning role is important.

The new quality standards highlight the importance of collaboration and co-production, values that are a vital part of everything we do as an organisation, and this was especially clear in how the expert advisory group was consulted with and worked together. The membership of the group also reflected critical elements of these standards, such as dynamic partnership working and having people with lived experience involved at every stage as being essential.

We are very encouraged that a great deal of consideration has been given to ensure that when looking at future commissioning, the right people are in the room and that they are supported to make the best possible decisions for local communities.

The aim of the drug strategy is to have accessible, high-quality, effective, person-centred alcohol and drug treatment and recovery systems throughout England, and we feel that these new standards provide a good framework to support this important work.

David Targett, Area Director at WDP – and a member of the expert advisory group – said: “Seeing the recommendations from the Dame Carol Black review appear in the drug strategy and now being followed through with the publication of these new quality standards for commissioning is promising and positive news. However, it is imperative that we continue working together as a sector to develop long-term quality, performance, financial and workforce strategies to strengthen, expand and embed excellent treatment and support for the people who need it.”

To read the commissioning quality standard: alcohol and drug treatment and recovery guidance and self-assessment tool, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services

We are delighted that we have been shortlisted for our Pay and Reward project in the ‘Best reward or recognition initiative’ category at this year’s CIPD People Management Awards.

These prestigious awards showcase and celebrate the outstanding achievements and contributions made by HR and Learning and Development teams across the UK who are making a real difference in their workplace.

Our new and innovative employee benefits package launched in 2021 following an extensive consultation with our staff. It was really important to us to put in place new conditions and benefits that support a happy, healthy, and impactful workforce and this has also helped us to continue to make a significant and positive difference in the work we do.

As well as gathering feedback from our people, we undertook research and benchmarking work, in our sector and beyond. We pushed and challenged ourselves to consider what we could do differently to make a difference. We will be reviewing our offer every two years, demonstrating our commitment to ensuring our pay and reward offer continues to help support us to attract, retain and develop the very best people.

Some examples of our benefits include:

• Annual leave of 30 days, from start of employment, increasing to 33 days over time.
• Sick leave of 6 months full pay, then 6 months half pay, from start of employment.
• An additional day’s leave for the following important life events: birthday, getting married/civil partnership, moving house, and child’s first day of school.
• Access to confidential counselling and practical support via our Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to Perkbox rewards and benefits, where all WDP staff can enjoy a wide variety of discounts – from fitness and wellbeing providers such as Puregym or Boxx and retailers like Argos or Snow & Rock – as well as freebies from Café Nero or Greggs, and free courses from the Skills Network.
• Other support we offer includes leave for: IVF (both partners eligible), adoption, gender transition, dependents, miscarriage (both partners eligible), pet bereavement and domestic abuse.

Anna Whitton, CEO of WDP said: ‘Our team have worked incredibly hard to develop and implement this important project. Being shortlisted for this CIPD award really recognises the careful time and attention invested in developing a strong and diverse employment offer. We are really proud of it!’

Read more about the full range of benefits available – including health and wellbeing initiatives, financial perks and support, and recognition and development opportunities – in our Benefits Package area.

We are delighted to announce the launch of our newly refurbished Cobbold Road hub at our New Beginnings service in Brent. The refurbished site was unveiled to service users, local partners and stakeholders at today’s launch event where attendees also heard from MP for Brent Central, Dawn Butler.

The improvements made to the New Beginnings Cobbold Road hub have created an even more welcoming and positive environment for staff, volunteers and most importantly for service users on their recovery journey.

Some of the key improvements made to the hub are:

• Brand-new reception area to give service users a warm welcome when they enter the building
• Larger group room including a kitchen area for service users
• Soundproof pods for staff to conduct online assessments and keywork sessions
• Easily accessible needle exchange room
• Capital Card shop available at all times during opening hours, giving service users the opportunity to access essential items when needed.

Tom Sackville, WDP’s Executive Director of Services said: “We are delighted to launch our new and improved hub at Cobbold Road. The new site provides a welcoming environment that will encourage people to access the excellent treatment offer that is available from New Beginnings, delivered in partnership with our clinical leads CNWL and service user group B3. We appreciate all the support provided by our commissioners at Brent Council for making this possible.”

The Cobbold Road hub launch event also included networking and a ‘marketplace’ where stands were setup throughout the building including WDP’s IPS Into Work employment service, B3 Brent Service User Council and ELEV8 Young Person’s Service.

New Beginnings is delivered by WDP and CNWL and is funded by Brent Public Health. To find out more about our service, visit https://www.wdp.org.uk/brent

WDP and Gilead Sciences have formally partnered for a second time to support sector-wide efforts to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) in drug and alcohol services by the end of 2023.

As part of this renewed partnership in with Gilead, WDP has recruited a dedicated Hepatitis C Coordinator to help its services achieve this 2023 target.

WDP has over 2,500 service users in treatment across the Barts, South Thames, West London and Cheshire & Merseyside Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs). WDP’s Hepatitis C Coordinator will be liaising with these ODN teams to better understand local needs and challenges as part of initial project planning and also to ensure ongoing high-quality partnership work.

In addition to this, WDP’s Hepatitis C Coordinator will also be working in partnership with the Hepatitis C Trust (HCT) and other organisations to improve pathways and take-up of testing and HCV treatment.

WDP initially received a Gilead grant in December 2019 to help increase its HCV testing and treatment uptake, enhance its data recording, and to apply its award-winning Capital Card® to its HCV pathway. The addition of the Capital Card meant service users could earn points by engaging in HCV testing and treatment appointments and spend their points on positive activities and products in their local community. Alongside NHS and Gilead jointly-delivered training to WDP teams, these interventions delivered a 114% increase in BBV testing uptake in WDP’s adult community services between September-December 2020, compared to the same four-month period the previous year, despite lockdown and other COVID-related protections.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP said: “We are extremely pleased to be continuing our partnership with Gilead Sciences on this important work. WDP is committed to eliminate hepatitis C in its drug and alcohol services by 2023 and although this is an ambitious target, we are confident that we have the right partners and people in place to help make this a reality.”

William McCully, Director, Patient Access to Care, Gilead Sciences said: “We are delighted to partner with WDP to deliver on the ambition to eliminate HCV in drug treatment services in England by the end of 2023 and look forward to supporting WDP’s Hep C Coordinator, the wider WDP team and the NHS to drive testing, diagnosis and linkage to care.”

Mark Gillyon-Powell, Head of Programme for HCV Elimination, NHS England says: “NHS England’s Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Elimination Programme is working towards a shared goal of eliminating hepatitis C as a major public health issue in England ahead of the World Health Organisation goal of 2030. We welcome this collaboration between two of our partners and recognise the important role it will play in driving forward hepatitis C elimination.”

Miriam Jassey, Southern Regional Manager, Hepatitis C Trust (HCT) said: “We are excited to work with the newly appointed WDP Hepatitis C Coordinator and look forward to further supporting the wider WDP team to increase HCV awareness, access to testing and referral to treatment through the lived experience of our peers. We are committed to working in partnership to ensure we leave no one behind as we work towards HCV elimination by the end of 2023.”

We are delighted to welcome Dame Carol Black to our residential detox and rehabilitation facility Passmores House today to meet with our IPS (Individual Placement and Support) Into Work team.

Following the release of WDP’s IPS Into Work Impact Report, Dame Carol Black will be meeting with our service users, our IPS Into Work team and Kim Archer, West London Alliance Commissioner to hear more about the success of the innovative employment support scheme.

In Dame Carol Black’s second part of her independent review on drugs, she identified employment as being an ‘essential part of recovery’ and called for the roll out of IPS services across England.

Since early 2019, WDP’s award-winning IPS Into Work service has focused on achieving sustainable employment to help reduce stigma, enrich lives, boost local economies, develop additional talents, and create workforces that reflect the diversity of their local communities.

Despite a challenging year due to the pandemic, our IPS Into Work team has supported 218 service users into employment and provided over 3,700 hours of support to participants during 2019-2021.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dame Carol Black to Passmores House today to meet the IPS team following the release of our IPS Into Work Impact Report. The report demonstrates how innovative employment support can transform the lives of people in recovery and we are proud to showcase the excellent outcomes and activities delivered by our teams.”

Kim Archer, West London Alliance Commissioner, said: “It is a pleasure to meet Dame Carol Black, and to have worked with WDP to help people with addiction to maintain their recovery and rediscover the opportunities and self confidence that employment brings. I am delighted that the West London Alliance was at the forefront of expanding IPS to this group of people.”

Read the full IPS Into Work Impact Report

To find out more about our IPS Into Work service, visit our employment support page.

Leading drug and alcohol charity WDP is delighted to announce that it has been successful in its bid to deliver a new integrated drug and alcohol service in West Berkshire.

The new service will commence from 1 April 2022 and will be operational for an initial five-year term.

Treatment and support will be available to all adults and young people who live in West Berkshire and require help with substance misuse of any kind. The service will be delivered from a fixed hub in Newbury as well as in a variety of satellite settings across the county.

The new service will have a strong focus on community, notably through WDP’s award-winning Capital Card® scheme and will bring with it WDP’s recovery focus and commitment to working in partnership with the areas we serve.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the contract to partner with West Berkshire Council and to have the opportunity to provide high-quality substance misuse service provision to the residents of West Berkshire. As a lead agency in this field, we are looking forward to supporting the needs of the users of our services who are front and centre of all we do. We also look forward to welcoming our new staff team into the WDP fold.”

We are pleased to announce that our Cheshire West and Chester substance misuse treatment service (known locally as New Beginnings) has been rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The CQC inspectors highlighted that staff “treated clients with compassion and kindness” and that the service “provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the clients and in line with national guidance about best practice.” The inspectors also identified WDP’s Capital Card scheme as an area of outstanding practice in the service.

The report includes some excellent feedback from service users. The inspectors reported that service users described staff as “considerate, caring and supportive” and they felt staff had “gone the extra mile to help them”.

Liane Goryl, Commissioning Manager Public Health, Cheshire West and Chester Council, commented: “This CQC report is a true reflection of the fantastic work and dedication of the staff teams who ensure that the local authority substance misuse service is delivered in a safe and effective way. The kindness and compassion shown to clients, working in a person-centred way is incredibly clear and shows the commitment of the skilled staff working in WDP New Beginnings across Cheshire West and Chester. The local authority is proud of the service and recognises the outstanding practise in relation to the Capital Card which inspectors highlighted. The strong relationship between the commission team, public health and WDP allows for us to work together successfully. Thank you to everyone who works for WDP New Beginnings in Cheshire West and Chester.”

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, commented: “We are delighted with this excellent CQC report acknowledging the high quality of our New Beginnings service within Cheshire West and Chester. It is a credit to the team for their hard work and commitment to our service users, as it recognises the importance we place on providing a service which is tailored to the needs of each individual who comes to us for support. Working closely with our commissioners is a key feature of our success and together we are able to deliver so much more. It is a partnership we value immensely and hope to continue to build on. We remain grateful to the users of our service for having faith in us to assist them in improving their lives.”

The areas of good practice that the CQC was particularly impressed by were:

• Staff developed holistic, recovery-orientated care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. They provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of service users and in line with national guidance around best practice.
• Staff treated service users with compassion and kindness and understood their individual needs. They actively involved them in decision making and care planning.
• The service was well led and governance processes ensured that quality and performance was monitored, incidents and complaints were investigated, and learning was disseminated to staff.
• Staff assessed and managed risks to service users and themselves well. They responded promptly to any sudden deterioration in a service user’s s health and when necessary and appropriate, staff worked with service users and their families and carers to develop crisis plans.

We are looking forward to using the findings of the report to continue to improve our services. To view the CQC report, click here.

If you live in Cheshire West and Chester and would like to talk to someone about your or someone else’s drug or alcohol use, please contact us on 0300 303 4548 or cwac@wdp.org.uk. You can also visit our service page for more information and to complete an online referral.

WDP has launched its Individual Placement and Support (IPS) impact report for 2019-2021.

The report reflects the huge benefits that tailored employment support can have for people with experience of addiction as well as the wider community.

Since early 2019, WDP’s award-winning IPS Into Work service has focused on achieving sustainable employment to help reduce stigma, enrich lives, boost local economies, develop additional talents, and create workforces that reflect the diversity of their local communities.

Despite a challenging year due to the pandemic, our IPS into Work team has supported 218 service users into employment and provided over 3,700 hours of support to participants during 2019-2021.

Speaking about their experience of IPS Into Work, one service user said: “I have been in services for 15 years and truly believe this is an essential part of the jigsaw of which I call my recovery. [I’m] looking forward to my first step in that direction.”

One key success has been helping service users to engage with prospective employers and building up local networks so they have access to regular opportunities. Over the last year, the team has worked with more than 100 different employers and IPS Into Work service users have obtained jobs across 10 sectors.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, said: “At WDP, we are committed to supporting the development of resilient communities. Our experience tells us that helping service users to access employment opportunities, and subsequently supporting and sustaining such employment, is a vital part of what we do to achieve this commitment.”

Kim Archer, West London Alliance Commissioner, said: “We are delighted to have commissioned this innovative service from WDP. Employment is such an important part of sustaining recovery for people with addictions. WDP have been an excellent partner in delivering this personalised and effective service to our residents.”

Read the full IPS into Work impact report

Leading drug and alcohol charity WDP has been successful in its bid to work in partnership with Surrey and Borders NHS Foundation Trust and Surrey County Council in delivering substance misuse services in Surrey.

WDP will be providing services as part of the wider NHS service, i-access, which is jointly provided by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Public Health (Surrey County Council). The new service provision will commence from 1 April 2022 and will be operational for an initial three-year term.

WDP will be delivering one-to-one and group support for service users, as well as harm reduction. It has an award-winning Capital Card® scheme, and a unique family safeguarding service which will be co-located with children and families’ social services teams.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, said: “We are looking forward to working together with the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust and Public Health (SCC) to provide high-quality support for all those living in the county who require help with their drug or alcohol use. This partnership provides an exciting opportunity to deliver meaningful support which will enable the users of our services to explore options to ensure a positive future. We also look forward to welcoming new staff into the WDP family.”