Alcohol & Drugs

Drug and alcohol misuse is a serious issue for society, with long term implications for employment, crime and the environment, as well as the health and well being of individuals. It is a key element of Public Health Policy and will become the responsibility of local authorities under new organisational arrangements.

See Healthy Lives, Healthy People: update and way forward (Department of Health, 2011)

What this means for the workforce
Combating drug and alcohol misuse depends on a skilled workforce. Practitioners need to understand the challenges of supporting individuals and be able to deliver effective interventions.

Resources
Skills for Health have developed the following resources to support the workforce.

Drug and Alcohol National Occupational Standards
The development of these competences was led by Skills for Health in close partnership with the Sector Skills Councils for Justice, Social Care, Housing, Employment, Education and Young People. They are relevant to everyone who is working to improve the quality of life for individuals and communities by minimising harm associated with alcohol and substance misuse.

Supporting documents:

• Outline of changes made to Drugs and Alcohol NOS in 2007
• Matrix of Drugs and Alcohol NOS – revised October 2007
• A guide to Drug and Alcohol NOS and their uses.

Roles
The following roles have been designed to provide a structured approach to developing relevant, transferable and nationally endorsed roles that can be used across different locations and services, with the flexibility to add locally relevant competences where required.

• Provision of IBA (Identification and Brief Advice)
• Specialist Alcohol Worker
• Alcohol Service Coordinator.

These form part of a wider library of Transferable Role Templates. You can view the full suite of roles here.

Qualifications
Nationally accredited QCF qualifications which assess competence against the Drug and Alcohol National Occupational Standards include:

• Diploma in Health and Social Care (level 3)

The following guidance is available about the Awards/Certificate in Working in Substance Misuse at levels 3 and 4:

• Learner's guide
• Employer's guide
• A Centre's guide.

A framework which describes routes for competence development through qualifications can be found here.

Other resources

• Guidance on competence and qualifications
• The Mackinnon Report regarding the Alcohol Workforce
• Commissioning Guidelines for Alcohol.

Can’t find what you’re looking for?
Skills for Health has developed a range of proven products and services to help you develop a more skilled and flexible workforce.

If you can’t find the solutions you are looking for here, try browsing the website, using the search function, or getting in touch with your country or regional director.

Some policies, strategies and guidance were developed under the previous government and as such may be subject to review by the Coalition Government.