Brief Insight 10: NHS Highland: Caithness Drug & Alcohol Recovery Service (CDARS): Assertive outreach project
Document Type
Reports
Summary
The Caithness and Sutherland Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service (CDARS) is a small team working in a rural area. Before this project, the team already provided Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) and harm reduction support through drop-in clinics and open referrals. A nurse prescriber was based in both Caithness and Sutherland. After looking at local and national data, the team decided to test a new assertive outreach approach in Caithness. This would add to the support already available.
The project started in January 2023 after new support workers joined the team. The team worked with the Board’s Caldicott Guardian to make sure the project met information governance requirements. They also developed a checklist to help partner organisations identify people who might benefit from outreach support and contact the service quickly.
Please send us an email at his.alcoholanddrugs@nhs.scot if you:
- have a question about our programme or resources
- would like to speak to a member of our team about our work