North Wales Substance Misuse Forum

The North Wales Substance Misuse Forum (NWSMF) consists of senior members of services engaged with substance misusers across North Wales. This includes the voluntary sector as well as statutory agencies. These are (click here to see the list)

The Forum is provided with Secretariat support from Maldwyn Roberts the North Wales Community Safety and Substance Misuse Coordinator, based at Llandudno Police Station, together with his admin assistant Mandy Jones. The Website Manager is Llyr Jones who is based at Bala Police Station.

It is an overarching group which looks at strategies for providing minimum standards or benchmarks on a regional basis on a consensual basis, as it is not a statutory forum.

The forum also receives the minutes of various specialist groups formed in North Wales to tackle specific issues in the substance misuse field. These range from Training, to Drug Related Death Reviews and SMAT Chair meetings. In this way it enables the exchange of information and ideas in both directions, from chief officers down and vice versa.

Whilst the six local Substance Misuse Action Teams (SMATs) are responsible for delivery of the strategies and initiatives, the Chairs of these groups meet regionally on a regular basis to discuss current issues and trends, as well as looking at opportunities for best practice and sharing of resources. For example the expenditure of the capital money provided each year by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) to North Wales, is agreed on a consensual basis by the Chairs, rather than a six way split to each of the six SMAT areas. This allows greater flexibility and the provision of a regional expenditure on a regional resource when appropriate.

The Drug Related Death Review Group formed in north Wales some three years ago, and used as a model of good practice by the WAG across Wales, report their findings to the Forum. This group meet to look at whether or not recommendations can be made to improve services or provisions for individuals in North Wales with a view to perhaps being able to prevent similar deaths occurring in future. These recommendations are made known to the forum in order to endorse them and ensure that the relevant agencies take due cognisance of them.

Current issues that are being addressed by the forum are Homelessness & Accommodation problems as well as employment issues for substance misusers. In particular, those who are in the criminal justice system and leaving prison. A specific group has been set up to review current facilities across north Wales, with a view to establishing a directory of services. This work is aligned to the Drug Intervention Programme (DIP) which is has started in the region in April 2006. Framework documents on both accommodation and employment issues will be produced for endorsement by the Forum.

Secretariat responsibility for the Forum is undertaken by the North Wales Community Safety & Substance Misuse Coordinator, based at Llandudno Police Station, who also has responsibility for the NWSMF website administrator.
Contact details 01492 805002 or Maldwyn.Roberts2@nthwales.pnn.police.uk

The NWSMF will strive to ensure that

• Individuals will be treated with equal respect and dignity
• Individual choices and preferences will be taken into account
• Offer services in preferred language
• Recognize individual and agency strengths and limitations
• Service providers will utilize a ‘Holistic’ model of support.

Strategic Aims:

Taking into account the Welsh and UK strategies, the NWSMF will seek to ensure that activity at regional and county level is carried out in support of the following strategic aims: