Collection

Alcohol and drug misuse prevention and treatment guidance

Information and other resources to support commissioners, service providers and others providing alcohol and drug interventions.

Published 20 December 2017
Last updated 10 September 2019 — see all updates

• From: Public Health England

Healthcare professionals can use these guidance documents, information and resources to help with providing and improving alcohol and drug misuse prevention and treatment services.

Visit Alcohol and drug misuse and treatment statistics for reports and datasets on the prevalence and treatment of alcohol and drug misuse treatment in England.

Visit Alcohol and drug misuse core dataset collection guidance for information and other resources to support alcohol and drug service providers collect and submit data.

Evidence reviews and inquiries

1. Prescribed medicines review: report
   • 10 September 2019
   • Research and analysis
2. Crack cocaine increase: inquiry findings
   • 25 March 2019
   • Research and analysis
3. Drug misuse treatment in England: evidence review of outcomes
   • 26 January 2017
   • Research and analysis
4. Alcohol’s harm to others
   • 12 June 2019
   • Research and analysis
5. The public health burden of alcohol: evidence review
   • 10 August 2018
   • Research and analysis
6. Alcohol treatment inquiry: summary of findings
   • 1 November 2018
   • Research and analysis

Guidance for commissioners and providers of alcohol and drug services

1. Alcohol and drug prevention, treatment and recovery: why invest?
   • 12 February 2018
   • Guidance
2. Safeguarding children affected by parental alcohol and drug use
   • 4 December 2018
   • Guidance
3. New psychoactive substances toolkit for commissioners
   • 1 November 2014
   • Guidance
4. Alcohol and drug treatment quality governance
   • 1 July 2015
   • Guidance
5. Routes to recovery from substance addiction
   • 1 April 2013
   • Guidance
6. Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management
   • 15 December 2017
   • Guidance
7. Treating drug dependence recovery with medication
   • 1 December 2013
   • Guidance
8. Preventing drug and alcohol misuse: effective interventions
   • 1 July 2015
   • Guidance
9. Service user involvement in alcohol and drug misuse treatment
   • 1 September 2015
   • Guidance
10. Services to treat dependence on medicines
    • 1 June 2013
    • Guidance
11. Mutual aid toolkit for alcohol and drug misuse treatment
    • 10 April 2018
    • Guidance
12. Treating substance misuse and related harm: turning evidence into practice
    • 1 January 2014
    • Guidance
13. Local alcohol services and systems improvement tool
    • 12 June 2020
    • Guidance
14. Alcohol, drugs and tobacco: commissioning support pack
    • 4 October 2018
    • Guidance

Guidance for health and care professionals

1. Misuse of illicit drugs and medicines: applying All Our Health
   • 16 January 2020
   • Guidance
2. Alcohol: applying All Our Health
   • 28 August 2019
   • Guidance

Reducing harm and preventing drug related deaths

1. Substance misuse services for men involved in chemsex
   • 1 November 2015
   • Guidance
2. Issuing public health alerts about drugs
   • 1 January 2016
   • Guidance
3. Providing take-home naloxone for opioid overdose
   • 1 July 2017
   • Guidance
4. Widening the availability of naloxone
   • 18 February 2019
   • Guidance
5. Shooting Up: infections among people who inject drugs in the UK
   • 17 December 2019
   • Research and analysis
6. Fentanyl: preparing for a future threat
   • 8 May 2018
   • Guidance
7. Fentanyl: safety recommendations for first responders
   • 23 August 2018
   • Guidance
8. Health matters: preventing drug misuse deaths
   • 15 September 2017
   • Guidance
9. Drug health harms: national intelligence
   • 13 January 2020
   • Guidance
10. Preventing drug related deaths
    • 1 September 2016
    • Guidance
11. Trends in drug misuse deaths in England
    • 1 April 2016
    • Guidance

Support for substance misuse and mental health problems

1. People with co-occurring conditions: commission and provide services
   • 26 July 2017
   • Guidance
2. Making substance misuse and mental health support more inclusive
   • 3 May 2019
   • Case study
3. Mental health and substance misuse: joined-up services
   • 3 May 2019
   • Case study

Preventing ill health from alcohol misuse in hospital patients

1. Developing pathways for alcohol treatment
   • 1 June 2018
   • Guidance
2. Collecting data for the tobacco and alcohol CQUIN scheme
   • 8 July 2019
   • Guidance
3. Alcohol use screening tests
   • 1 June 2017
   • Guidance
4. Screening and brief advice for alcohol and tobacco use
   • 19 December 2019
   • Guidance

Alcohol and drug treatment in prisons and secure settings

1. Review of brief alcohol interventions in prison
   • 1 January 2017
   • Guidance
2. New psychoactive substances toolkit: prison staff
   • 1 January 2017
   • Guidance
3. Continuity of care for prisoners who need substance misuse treatment
   • 30 November 2018
   • Guidance
4. Managing persistent pain in secure settings
   • 1 July 2013
   • Guidance

Professional roles in alcohol and drug misuse treatment

Public Health England (PHE) has published guidance on the role of professionals in alcohol and drug misuse treatment. It has also supported guidance published by others on the role of social workers and the role of clinical psychologists.

1. Non-medical prescribing in the management of substance misuse
   • 1 July 2014
   • Guidance
2. Role of addiction specialist doctors in drug and alcohol services
   • 1 November 2015
   • Guidance
3. Role of nurses in alcohol and drug treatment services
   • 20 October 2017
   • Guidance

Social return on investment and value for money tools

1. Social return on investment of alcohol and drug treatment
   • 1 February 2016
   • Guidance
2. Parental alcohol and drug use: understanding the problem
   • 22 May 2018
   • Guidance
3. Social return on investment of treating substance-misusing parents
   • 1 February 2016
   • Guidance
4. Estimating the cost-effectiveness of local alcohol and drug treatment
   • 27 September 2017
   • Guidance

Published 20 December 2017
Last updated 10 September 2019 + show all updates

1. 10 September 2019

   Added 'Prescribed medicines review: report'.

2. 12 June 2019

   Added 'Alcohol's harm to others'.

3. 14 May 2019

   Added publications to new 'Guidance for health and care professionals' section.

4. 3 May 2019

   Added case studies to new 'Support for substance misuse and mental health problems' section.

5. 25 March 2019

   Added 'Crack cocaine increase: inquiry findings'.

6. 19 December 2018

   Added 'Safeguarding children affected by parental alcohol and drug use'.

7. 2 November 2018

   Added 'Alcohol treatment inquiry: summary of findings'.

8. 23 August 2018

   Added Fentanyl: safety recommendations for first responders.

9. 14 August 2018

   Added Continuity of care for prisoners who need substance misuse treatment.

10. 16 July 2018

    Added Drug health harms: national intelligence.

11. 6 June 2018

    Added Developing pathways for alcohol treatment.

12. 22 May 2018

    Added Parental alcohol and drug use: understanding the problem.

13. 9 May 2018

    Added 'Fentanyl: preparing for a future threat' to the collection.

14. 1 March 2018

    Created a new group 'Preventing ill health from alcohol misuse' and added publications.

15. 12 February 2018

    Added Alcohol and drug prevention, treatment and recovery: why invest?

16. 20 December 2017

    First published.