The Department of Health has begun work on the development of a new National Drugs Strategy (NDS) to tackle the harm caused to individuals, families and communities by problem drug and alcohol use in Ireland, which will cover the period from January 1, 2017, onwards.
As part of the process, Hawkins House is hiring a consultant to perform research and development work and related services for the delivery of a Performance Measurement Framework for Local and Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Forces.
Task Forces are community-based structures, which play a key role in assessing the extent and nature of the drug problem in their areas and coordinate action so that there is a targeted response to the drug problem in local communities, established under the current NDS.
The new framework is meant to improve measurement and assessment of their work and to gain a better understanding of how they contribute to positive change at local and regional level, the Department envisages.
The existing Strategy 2009-2016 cuts across public policy and service delivery bringing together Government Departments, agencies and community and voluntary sectors to provide a collective response to tackling the drugs problem through the five pillars of supply reduction, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and research.
Under this Strategy, the terms of reference of the Task Forces include to: coordinate the implementation of the NDS in the context of the needs of the region/local area; implement the actions in the Strategy where Task Forces have been assigned a role; and promote the implementation of evidence-based local/regional drug and alcohol strategies and to exchange best practice.
Source: Lloyd Mudiwa, Irish Medical Times, 30/10/15
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