The role of nurses in alcohol and drug treatment services: a resource for commissioners, providers and clinicians

Commissioners and providers of alcohol and drugs services need to respond to increasingly complex need in the populations they serve.

This requires services to be competent in identifying and responding to a wide range of health and social care needs
and be able to support people to access treatment for co-existing physical and mental health issues, to enable recovery.

This resource has been written by the Royal College of Nursing, the Association of Nurses in Substance Abuse (ANSA), the National Substance Misuse Non-Medical Prescribing Forum, and Public Health England. It describes the many possible roles of nurses in alcohol and drug treatment in England.

It is one of a series of PHE-supported briefings on the roles of professions working in alcohol and drug treatment services, in the community and in secondary care2,3,4 and should be read in conjunction with them. This resource is to assist commissioners and providers of specialist adult alcohol and drug treatment services to identify the right workforce to meet the needs of their local populations.

It does not address the wider role of nurses across other areas of health and social care, such as midwives, who make a significant contribution to the care of people who misuse alcohol and drugs, and their families.

It outlines:
• the roles of nurses working in alcohol and drug treatment including the contribution
they can make to health and social care outcomes
• the added value nurses can bring to alcohol and drug treatment
• the competences and skills that should be expected of nurses working in alcohol and
drug treatment
• what is required to develop and maintain these competences
The potential added value of nurses is determined by the level of experience and training.

Experienced nurses will be able to provide advanced clinical interventions and respond to more complex physical and mental health needs. It is important that the roles of nurses are not considered in isolation, but as a key part of a multidisciplinary team, responding to locally identified need.

This series of briefings is a response to concerns raised by PHE stakeholders about reducing numbers of
professional roles within alcohol and drug services, and reflects discussions and co-production with relevant
stakeholders.

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