New National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Services Launching in 2012!

New National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Services Launching in 2012!

Drugs.ie is building a more interactive directory that will contain detailed information on Services in your area. The new directory is currently in development and we hope to be launching it in the New Year.

Some of the new information will include:

• Details on core services provided by each agency listed
• Information on the agency’s target service users
• Types of drug and alcohol problems treated by the agency
• Details on other supports and rehabilitation services provided by the agency including prison support, education and training, housing and childcare supports, and much more
• Details on the agency’s referral and access criteria
• Additional details for residential services including fees, duration and type of programme, quality standards and much more
• Any brochures, leaflets and forms, such as referral forms that the agency has chosen to upload and share

With the new directory will come a different way of collecting and updating information on services. We will be inviting all service providers across the country to register with www.drugs.ie/services, open an account and securely manage their own services information by completing our online questionnaire.

We want to give each agency, each project, each clinic and residential facility its own dedicated area on www.drugs.ie. This will be a national directory but one that it locally managed and locally owned.

The benefits we hope the new directory will bring to all users:

• you will be accessing a directory that is up to date and accurate because agencies themselves will be supplying information on their services
• help in guiding you to the most appropriate services based on your needs
• enabling you to make informed decisions about treatment and rehabilitation
• all agencies complete the same questionnaire so all the information is presented to you in a consistent way

The benefits to services providers in exchange for a little bit of your time:

• you can log in easily and quickly any time to edit any of your information
• you can upload images, documents and videos to complement your services descriptions
• you can search within familiar service catchment areas – HSE boundaries and Drug Task Force boundaries
• you can shortlist services and pull together tailor-made and high-quality PDF directories for printing should you need to
• you can become familiar with the difference services operating in your area through the new map search function
• statistics via your profile page will let you know how complete your registration is and how many people have visited your service pages
• a completely free online presence at the www.drugs.ie site

For a sneak preview of what we hope the new area will look like please download these slides:

New Services Directory Slides

We would like to thank all of you who took time to complete our online questionnaires in June and July 2011. Your feedback has helped us develop this project.

If you would like to stay involved with this project and help with us to test the new area before it launches in early 2012, please get in touch – we will be happy to provide you with more information. Please email services@drugs.ie