'Alcohol and drugs JSNA support pack' 2015 released by PHE

An updated guidance document to support strategic and commissioning approaches to alcohol treatment and prevention has been released by Public Health England (PHE), alongside packs for drugs, tobacco and children and young people's substance use.

It aims to support the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) process and local joint health and wellbeing strategies. These underpin local delivery for drug and alcohol treatment and prevention, now the responsibility of local authorities.

The release includes alcohol specific documents such as 'Good practice prompts for planning comprehensive interventions in 2016-17 [pdf]', which outlines five 'key principles that local areas might consider when developing plans for an integrated system':

1. Effective population-level actions are in place to reduce alcohol-related harms
2. There is large scale delivery of targeted brief advice
3. There are specialist alcohol care services for people in hospital
4. There is prompt access to effective alcohol treatment
5. Local authority public health commissioners work closely with all relevant partners to commission high-quality, evidence-led alcohol and drug interventions based on outcomes

The sections include a range of 'prompts' to help local areas consider key actions. PHE previously produced an 'alcohol stocktake self assessment tool' as a similar supporting framework for local activity. Local areas across England have also been sent tailored data packs using a range of local indicators  - see blank example here [pdf]. 

A slide pack illustrating the case for local investment in alcohol and drug interventions has also been produced, highlighting national level impacts as well as some local savings - download here [pdf]. PHE are also undertaking further work to identify the potential Return on Investment of various interventions.

Comprehensive NICE alcohol guidance is also available, including a fairly complex Return on Investment tool. NICE have also previously released Public Health Guidance for local authorities, following a host of other alcohol-related guidance, and the Alcohol Learning Centre also includes pages highlighting data tools and commissioning.