An edition of Tyne Tees Television current affairs programme ‘Briefing’ on the lack of inpatient facilities in the region for people with addictions to drink, drugs or solvents. While many in the programme such as Peter Rorstad Director of the North East Council of Additions (NECA) are asking for more beds to be made available for de-toxification, Dr Anthony Thorley a Consultant Psychiatrist for the Regional Dependency Unit in Newcastle believe they aren’t needed and more emphasis on...

An edition of Tyne Tees Television current affairs programme ‘Briefing’ on the lack of inpatient facilities in the region for people with addictions to drink, drugs or solvents. While many in the programme such as Peter Rorstad Director of the North East Council of Additions (NECA) are asking for more beds to be made available for de-toxification, Dr Anthony Thorley a Consultant Psychiatrist for the Regional Dependency Unit in Newcastle believe they aren’t needed and more emphasis on community treatment is the answer. Title: Tyne Tees Sitting at his desk Peter Rorstad Director of the North East Council of Additions (NECA) explains what addiction is. Pedestrians walk along a shopping street in the Northeast, in voiceover presenter Stuart McNeil explains that 5% of the region’s population has an additional problem with the major causes being drink, drugs and solvents. Back in his office Peter Rorstad explains that 1 in 10 of addicts need to be taken out of their environment in order that they can be withdrawn in a hospital setting. However, these facilities are limited and so it is these people who are suffering. Title: Where Do We Go From Here? A map of the Northeast and Cumbria with Stuart McNeil explaining in voiceover that there is only one special addition unit in the Northern Region Health Authority Area based in Newcastle. Six hospital bed appear over the map, the total number of beds available at the unit. Cars parked outside the Regional Dependency Unit at Parkwood House at Gosforth, inside a four-bed ward. In his office Dr Anthony Thorley a Consultant Psychiatrist at the unit explains that inpatient treatment isn’t always best and rather it is better for staff to go work in the family setting. He isn’t concerned about the drop in the number of beds available for in patients, rather that staff are able to do more work in the community. A suburban street lined with cars changes back to Dr Thorley who provides more details on how treatment within the home works with the support of family only admitting them to the Dependency Unit should something go wrong. Jim Williamson a Drug Team Co-ordinator crosses a road and walks along a street in South Shields. He explains why the community approach outlined by Dr Thorley is a wrong and that hospital beds for de-toxification are just as important. He believes people who believe they need to go into hospital should be given a bed. He goes onto explain the centre at Parkwood doesn’t have enough beds as he was unable to get two people onto the unit whom he felt needed their services. Ray Thompson NECA Development Officer for Sunderland is also critical of the lack of beds at Parkwood House and its impossible for him to admit anyone. He explains there is also a waiting list of about eight weeks to get a heroin addict onto the unit which he sees as unacceptable. Empty solvent bottles laying on the ground changes to Hartlepool Educational Psychologist Madeline Davies who explains she would ideally like to recommend to some of the solvent users to be admitted to a hospital placement for detoxification with treatment programmes followed up locally. Cars pull up and park at Hartlepool centre and Madeline Davies explaining that it would be ideal to have a referral centre in the town to work with the health authorities in drug treatment programs, she gives an example of a referral which went well. She talks about the problems of admitting young addicts who are often admitted to the wrong departments. A 23-year-old Hartlepool woman talks about her issues with addiction and the problems with her treatment being admitted onto a geriatric psychological ward. In the grounds of The Retreat clinic at York two men clearing leaves from the ground. In voiceover presenter Stuart McNeil explains this is the only Specialised Treatment-on-Demand centre in the north costing upwards of £90 a day. In one of the rooms a nurse speaks with a patient changing to Dr Alistair Gordon Medical Director at The Treat as well as Consultant Psychiatrist who provides details on some of the treatments on offer at the clinic. In a large room patients taking part in various craft activities including weaving baskets and polishing wooden stools. Dr Gordon continues to talk about the importance of separating the addict from the social bonds of dependency which is seen as an integral part of the disorder. Inside NECA in Newcastle two signs on a set of swing doors, one reads ‘No Drinks Beyond This Point’ and the other ‘Welcome to the Number One Club’. In his office Peter Rorstad talks about the process and challenges of breaking addiction over a twelve to eighteen-month rehabilitation period and learning to cope in the absence of a substance. As he provides more details about the facilities at the centre, men and women inside the Number One Club sitting at tables chatting or playing snooker while one man gets himself a cup of coffee from a bar area. In a NECA office volunteers at work while in his office Peter Rorstad talking about the potential dangers of the voluntary section being overlooked by statutory services such as the NHS. Peter talks briefly about the problems getting patients into hospital beds and then begins to talk about specialist centres available to addicts such as Phoenix House in South Shields. In the grounds at Phoenix House two men gardening with Peter Rorstad explaining that places at Phoenix House are only available to those who have been through a brief period of de-toxification. Inside men at work in the kitchen preparing a meal change to an interview with the Project Director of Phoenix House Michelle Whitworth about the characteristics of someone who has been addicted to illegal drugs and a sense of shame they have which the centre helps them come to terms with and take control of their lives. Several residents speak with a man sitting at a desk at the bottom of the stairs. A man looks over the daily roster and takes a task. In a room a group of residents speaking with a member of staff about potentially allowing another resident to leave the centre for the Christmas period. The pro and cons of this important decision and discussed. Back in her office Michelle Whitworth has heard of issues of people finding de-toxification facilities and believes more centres for this are needed. Outside a converted tobacco warehouse on Tyneside a crowd of men make their way inside the Cyrenian Night Shelter. Inside a woman pushes a trolley containing two large urns to a counter where some of the men are waiting, they help themselves to cups of tea. Christine Hammill the hostel Warden talks of the challenges of running the shelter which she sees as only an emergency facility. As she explains that around 55% of those who use the shelter would have been helped if a de-toxification centre was available, in a large room bed’s laid out filling the room with some of the men resting on them. Christine explains that it would be a challenge for her to get any of her users into a de-toxification unit because they were coming from the Cyrenians and would be seen as being beyond help. Over a montage of the basic facilities available at the hostel Christine is also critical of the type of de-toxification programme that are available as they are too complicated for the kind of users she deals with and needs to be more basic. Back in his office Dr Anthony Thorley continues to state that beds aren’t needed rather more staff to work in the community with some beds only for the difficult cases. The programme ends on Peter Rorstad who believes the issues that face both NECA and others in the voluntary section is the lack of de-toxification beds in the region and it is this group who are suffering. Credit: Executive Producer George Courtice Graphics Alan Davidson Research Liz Woodward Film Cameraman Fred Crone Film Sound Ian Richardson Film Editor John Louvre Director Bernard Preston Producer Bob Farnworth End title: Tyne Tees. © Tyne Tees Television Ltd. MCMLXXXVII