Northern Drug & Alcohol Co-Ordination Team Website

The Northern Drugs and Alcohol Co-Ordination Team (NDACT) is one of four Drug & Alcohol Co-Ordination Teams in Northern Ireland.

The NDACT works within the Northern Health and Social Services Board (Northern Board) area which includes 10 district council areas, namely:

Antrim

Ballymena

Ballymoney

Carrickfergus

Coleraine

Cookstown

Larne

Magherafelt

Moyle

Newtownabbey

NDACT is a multi-agency, cross-sectoral partnership comprised of representatives from the Northern Board area based in statutory, community and voluntary agencies with a remit for Drugs and Alcohol.

Using a partnership approach the Team aims to co-ordinate efforts to improve access to effective education/ prevention, treatment and support services in the Northern Board area.

Who's represented on the Team?

NHSSB

Voluntary & Community Sector

Causeway & Homefirst Health & Social Services Trusts

PSNI (Drugs Squad & District Command Units)

Probation Board for Northern Ireland

Addiction Services (Homefirst/ Causeway)

NEELB / SELB (Schools & Youth)

Housing Executive

Investing for Health

Community Pharmacy

Team structure

There is an elected Chair, Vice Chair and dedicated staff to progress the work of NDACT.

History of the Team

The Northern Drugs Co-Ordination Team was established in 1996 as part of the Northern Ireland Drugs Campaign. At that time the Team’s remit was to address drug problems at a local level. However, the Team’s remit was extended to include alcohol when the Drug Strategy for Northern Ireland and the Strategy for Reducing Alcohol Related Harm were brought together within a “Joint Implementation Model” in 2001 – 2005 by the Department of Social Services & Public Safety (DHSSPS).

Our role

NDACT are currently working on implementing the New Strategic Direction (NSD) for Alcohol and Drugs 2006 – 2011 within the Northern Board area (Table 1). The NSD document has a main aim of reducing the level of alcohol and drug-related harm in Northern Ireland. It contains a wide range of outcomes / outputs aimed at providing targeted education / prevention programmes and appropriate treatment interventions to substance misusers and their families. (To view the NSD click here).

The Team have developed a Local Action Plan (LAP) (2006-2009) which reflects local need and is instrumental in implementing the NSD at local level. The LAP is based on a series of inter-connected short, medium and long term outcomes and outputs related to the NSD key priorities. (To view the LAP click here.)

The LAP consists of 19 outcomes, 7 of which have been tendered for and the remaining activities will be progressed “in-house” or directly commissioned through the Northern Board’s Mental Health Programme of Care (PoC) where appropriate.

The Drug & Alcohol Strategy Team (DAST) based at DHSSPS have allocated funding to the Northern Board on behalf of NDACT to support the LAP. Evaluation has been built in as an integral part of the structure.

Implementation of the New Strategic Direction for Alchol & Drugs

Table 1

New structures

New structures have been set up to oversee the implementation of the NSD (Table 2). The Ministerial group on Public Health will oversee these structures.

The new structures will be a mixture of current systems and new groups.

Within the NSD and these structures there is a strong emphasis on ensuring that alcohol and drugs issues are dealt with equally.

NSD New Structures

Table 2

Other changes to current systems will be the renaming of DAST to the Alcohol and Drugs Policy Branch.

There will be four new Advisory Groups as follows:

Children, young people and families
Treatment and support
Law and criminal justice
Binge drinking

Their role will be to act as a specialist groups on issues relating to Alcohol and Drugs work around their theme and advise relevant agencies.

Important Documents:

	NDACT News March 09
	NDACT Mini Directory of Substance Misuse Services - Issue 4
	NDACT Local Action Plan 2009 - 2011
	NDACT Funding Summary April 2002 – March 2008
	NDACT Information Flyer - March 2005