Substance Misuse Strategy
Our vision, aims, principles, and approach
Our vision
Our vision is to work in partnership, to prevent and reduce the harms caused by alcohol, drugs, and other substance misuse. Seeking to create a culture that supports individuals to make positive choices for the benefit of their health and wellbeing and those around them.
Our aim
People living in Cheshire West and Chester can make informed healthy choices to reduce the harms caused by drug and alcohol abuse and improve their wellbeing. We will ensure that people who require treatment for alcohol and/or drug dependency are given the best chance to make a full recovery.
Our principles
We want to put people at the heart of our strategy. We believe this will help to improve their health and wellbeing outcomes and ensure there is autonomy and accountability.
Local solutions resulting in local action will require strong relationships and dialogue with counterparts, as well as a commitment to base decisions on assessed need, service user involvement and national guidance.
We will find new ways of working that will serve people better. We will develop new models of support and service delivery through best practice, being creative and working across the health and social care system.
We will commit to challenging attitudes, behaviours, terminology and how we deliver services whenever possible. Ensuring we continually progress our ambition to improve the health and wellbeing of those who live in our borough whose lives have been negatively impacted by drugs and alcohol.
The strategy will endorse and present a borough-wide approach whilst simultaneously appreciating the need for targeted working to address the specific issues that are areas of concern. To address the issue of equity (fairness), it will seek to foster collaboration with the commissioners of other strands of drug and alcohol provision.
We understand that poor health as a result of drug and/or alcohol abuse, can go hand in hand with issues such as poor mental health, or living with other major stresses in life. We will create stronger ties with services that can offer support with these underlying issues.
Our approach
The strategy seeks to influence the ability for adults and young people to lead healthy lifestyles and minimise risk. This includes the provision of information and advice, promotion of key health messages, educational and awareness raising sessions, and outreach work.
Ensuring prevention is high on the agenda and in order to meet the many drug and alcohol related challenges, effective partnership working will be key. This will include public, private and voluntary partner organisations working together, and the involvement of the public through consultation and community engagement.
Decisions about services and programmes should be based upon the best available information and our strategy is based on our knowledge of local need. This ensures we make best use of resources, providing the best possible services and support.
Individual empowerment is about people having a sense of control over their lives through building people's confidence, boosting their self-esteem, developing their coping mechanisms or enhancing their personal skills. Community empowerment is about allowing people to take control of the decisions that influence their lives and health.
