no more funding for caithness council on alcohol

[martin macdonald]

i was sad to read that no more funding is to be given to the caithness council on alcohol. this was a great work in the community and i know helped many folkes on the road to recovery. i would say it is a very wrong move to stop the funding in our particular situation of under age drinking and the dangers of alcoholisim which is now rife in the smaller towns in scotland. one fact is that wick was top of the list for alcohol abuse in britain per head of population a few years ago[evil]

[Mizpah]

Could not agree more, this is a problem that is getting worse not better and to stop the funding is a disgrace.

[rockchick]

Is there no local Alcoholics Anonymous in Caithness? I thought they were worldwide...I know in Canada they are everywhere.

[Kingetter]

Is there no local Alcoholics Anonymous in Caithness? I thought they were worldwide...I know in Canada they are everywhere.

AA meet in Thurso. (I'm not one of them I hasten to add but am aware of them).

[JAWS]

Is anybody surprised? This is just another example of both Westminster and Holyrood making a great deal of noise about the need to do something about a problem whilst cutting back on the resources needed to deal with it.

Re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic is one thing but drilling huge holes in the hull whilst telling people you are saving the ship from sinking is quite another.

[JAWS]

AA meet in Thurso. (I'm not one of them I hasten to add but am aware of them).Oh dear, Kingetter, you are obviously in denial! ;) (Sorry, couldn't resist that one.)

[Kingetter]

Oh dear, Kingetter, you are obviously in denial! ;) (Sorry, couldn't resist that one.)

Yeah - good un JAWS (I grudgingly admit lol)
They wouldn't let me in with my Laphroaig so nuts etc etc!

[dpw39]

It is stated in the Groat 13th Oct that as stated by Mr John Green chairman of CCA "It is disapointing to see the organisation wind up but the official view seems to be that the job can be done by the communty psychiatric nursing service which I understand has been given special training and extra resources. end of quote.

Anyone who has accessed the Community Mental Health Services will more than likely have had a long wait to actually see a CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse), unless they where at serious risk to themselves or the community, and therefore would be sectioned under the Mental Health act. Otherwise which is the greater stigma? having a drink orientated issue or seeming to have a mental health problem?

If we can afford to pay our community councillors £15/20k a year (I don't know how many of them there are) surely we would get more value for money by spending £8,000 on this valuable service as this cause is more worthwhile, than meeting to discuss issues such as certain eyesores in the town centre and doing nothing about them.

Unfortunately, most people can turn to drink, especially when things are getting them down in life, unfortunately it is also a depressant, and has been known to put people in a suicidal mode, when they are under the influence of alcohol.

Think again NHS Highland and Highland Council and stop penny-pinching, or are they just testing the water???


Ciao,

[cuddlepop]

I think ther's more to this than meets the eye.
I think a little digging is what's called for here as I think the plug may be pulled over here too.It may just be a coincidence but the building there housed in is old and delapatated and the service is duplicated at the newer mental health unit.:confused

[sweetpea]

It's a shame if it bites the dust cause there is such a lack of these types of services here not just for drink but drugs too, especially user friendly ones. I don't think there is even a place to recover, you have to go away to do that.
If the mental health services offer same then it's probably classed as double funding or somethign crazy like that.

[JAWS]

It is stated in the Groat 13th Oct that as stated by Mr John Green chairman of CCA "It is disapointing to see the organisation wind up but the official view seems to be that the job can be done by the communty psychiatric nursing service which I understand has been given special training and extra resources. end of quote Now where have I heard that one before?
"Special Training"? "Extra Resources"? That's 'Admin Speak' for, "Read these Instructions and there's the extra filing cabinet for the forms!"
That's not to decry the people at the sharp end who will, no doubt, do their best to cope.

It sounds very much to me like saving money by getting rid of staff and dumping an additional work-load on those that remain in the hope that nobody notices what's happened.

Which ever way it is dressed up it amounts to a cut in Trained Staff and a reduction in the Services provided to those with mental health problems which is the exact opposite of the carefully orchestrated sound-bites about additional resources for Mental Health Care.