Evaluating the service provision for ethnic minorities in Islington in the treatment of substance misuse

This project studied ethnic minorities with substance misuse problems to establish how services adapt to accommodate this presentation. It was conducted for the London Borough of Islington and its drug services to see how far they meet the needs of ethnic minorities. For Islington, the study identifies areas needing more focus to improve provision by comparing it with neighbouring Tower Hamlets. It takes a qualitative approach, looking at each borough and interviewing staff who run and structure services, evaluating their knowledge of each borough’s ethnic community and explores how the boroughs use this to meet needs. Purposive sampling selected for interview those with the influence to shape services. The project reveals interesting findings and some differences: a) The population of the ethnic communities is different in each borough, influencing how services have responded to their problems concerning substance misuse. b) Clinicians’ knowledge base on ethnic minorities and their issues with approaching drug services is adequate, but needs updating. c) Rapid assessment is seen as the best tool to engage ethnic communities. It is hoped that some of the findings from this study are beneficial to the London Borough of Islington and its drug services. 1) Flexibility is an important concept in drug service planning, but is it enough to accommodate ethnic minority needs? Will budget cuts limit drug services’ flexibility? 2) Do other boroughs’ approaches need to be adopted to enable ethnic minorities to engage with mainstream drug services, such as setting up ‘rapid assessment’? 3) Is an ethnic-specific project needed in Islington, as in Tower Hamlets? 4) More educational sessions are needed to update staff knowledge on ethnic minorities. The findings will be shared with local boroughs’ drug services and commissioners, and disseminated to all workers and service user groups in Islington. It is hoped the recommendations will be implemented.