DAPL Reopening - Healthcare Services - i-1428

The aim of the EHC Service in Oxfordshire is to reduce the risk of unintended and unwanted pregnancy in women, by providing adequate and appropriate access to EHC. The provision of the medication for EHC is under a ‘Patient Group Direction’ (PGD).

Service objectives include:

• Free access to EHC according to the inclusion criteria of the relevant PGD.
• Providing sexual health information and advice in order to develop increased knowledge, especially in high-need communities, such as those from cultures where sexual health is not spoken about;
• Ensuring that the Service is acceptable and accessible to young people;
• Signposting to other services such as the Integrated Sexual Health Service and the Free Condom Scheme;
• Assess all Service Users for any potential safeguarding risk.

This Service will provide supervised consumption of prescribed opiate substitution therapy medications to people living in Oxfordshire, according to the directions of the prescriber. The Service Provider will offer a user-friendly, non-judgmental, person-centred and confidential service at all times.

The prescriber, will be either a Drug Misuse Shared Care GP or Turning Point clinician, who will issue a prescription for OST, and include a request for supervision, on a regular basis, either as part of a detoxification programme or maintenance treatment.

The principle aim of the SWOP service is to provide a harm reduction intervention which:

Reduces transmission of blood borne viruses by substance misusers;

Reduces the risk and impact on the local community from drug injecting waste;

Reduces the number of drug related deaths;

Reduces the burden on the local health and social care system caused by injecting drug use;

Reduces the risk-taking behaviours of injecting drug users, such as sharing needles and syringes.