Chamber and committees

Clients'' medical records are not held on the Scottish Drug Misuse Database. However, some basic self-reported health information is held, which is described in the answer to question S3W-25786, on 6 August 2009.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The information held in the Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD) is owned and managed by Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland, which is part of NHS National Services Scotland (a special health board). NHS drug treatment providers submit information to the SDMD.

To the best of the knowledge of Scottish Government, the police have no involvement with the Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD), which holds information about patients/clients attending drug treatment services.

The Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD) collects information and data on clients entering drug treatment at specialist services in Scotland. Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland, a division of NHS National Services Scotland, holds the database and processes the data. Ministers do not oversee the use of SDMD.

The Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD) holds information/data about clients in drug treatment services. This information/data comprises:

1. Personal details, including full name, city/town and postcode, date of birth and ethnic group.

2. Initial presenting information, including main source of referral and co-occuring health issues.

3. Contact with each service used, including caseworker name, date of initial assessment and follow-up reviews, date and reason for discharge and/or date and destination of referral to another treatment or rehabilitation service.

4. Previous contact with services.

5. Age when first started using illicit drugs and at onset of problem use.

6. Currently prescribed drugs related to the treatment of addiction.

7. Illicit drugs taken in the past month, including frequency and daily quantity and spend.

8. Injecting/equipment sharing details.

9. Blood borne viruses.

10. Alcohol consumed in the past month.

11. Social profile, including accommodation, legal situation, living situation, prison record (last 12 months), employment/education and source of funding for drugs use.

12. Number of dependent children and their living situation.

13. Details of interventions received (including drugs treatment and wider social, housing and employment interventions).

These categories reflect the most comprehensive information that may be held about an individual who has received both an initial and a follow-up assessment.

For reasons why the amount of information about different individuals may vary I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-25798, on 6 August 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-25771, on 6 August 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-25771, on 6 August 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD) has a number of important uses including:

Monitoring problem drug use;

Helping to identify, or confirm, trends;

Informing discussion about service provision;

Providing data to local partnerships on alcohol and drugs to help them plan their work and manage local performance;

Providing information in support of single outcome agreements.

Prior to 2008, the utility of the database was restricted because it only contained information about clients when they first entered treatment. The new SDMD follow-up reporting system was introduced in April 2008, with Scotland-wide coverage expected by the end of 2009. This will enhance the utility of the database by providing information on:

The total number of clients in treatment;

The length of time spent in treatment;

Details of the interventions clients receive;

Changes in clients'' drug use and social situations (including the living situation of dependent children).

This new data will permit the analysis of effective treatment pathways and outcomes, in addition to enhancing the existing uses of the database outlined above.

Different amounts and types of information and data may be held about different individuals in the Scottish Drug Misuse Database because:

(a) individuals may choose not to answer all the questions on the forms used to collect the information.

(b) prior to the expansion of the database to include follow-up information, clients only had information collected about them when they first entered treatment.

(c) the system for collecting follow-up information records this at regular intervals. This means that the amount of information held depends on how long an individual has been in treatment.

We have initially appointed two national support coordinators (NSCs) who will take up post in August. The NSCs will have a Scotland-wide remit and, as such, they are not appointed to a particular local authority area. They will be seconded to the Scottish Government and will report jointly to the heads of the drugs policy delivery team and alcohol policy team. They will work closely with local alcohol and drugs partnerships and their partners to promote and support the implementation of national alcohol and drugs policy initiatives at a local level. A significant aspect of the coordinators'' role will be to support local partners in understanding and implementing the new delivery framework published in April 2009 by the Scottish Government, CoSLA and NHS Scotland:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/04/23084201/0.

The NSCs will have a purely supportive role; they will not have authority over local partners or be responsible for the delivery of local drugs services.

Month