§ Mr. MullinTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission a report on the average waiting time for treatment for heroin addiction in(a) 1997 and (b) 2002 in (i) Sunderland, (ii) Manchester, (iii) Birmingham, (iv) Teesside and (v) Central London; and if he will make a statement. [63771]
§ Ms BlearsThe Department commissioned an England-wide research project into waiting times for substitute prescribing and in-patient detoxification for opiate users in 2000. The project is due to report this summer.
Average waiting times for drug treatment services in 2001 in the areas requested are given in the table. This is the latest data available, and comparative data are not available for earlier years.
149WThe national treatment agency for substance misuse issued waiting times guidance to drug action teams in March 2002. This sets out recommended maximum waiting times for each type of treatment, and the national treatment agency is monitoring the progress of drug action teams in working towards these. In April 2002, each health authority area received an uplift in central funding for drug treatment of at least 30 per cent. to support this work.