§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the financial position of the Salisbury Alcohol and Drugs Advisory Service; and what the waiting time is for an appointment. [72615]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 15 October 2002]I understand that an additional £60,000 has been made available to Salisbury alcohol and drugs advisory service (SADAS) in recognition of the shortfall in the original allocation for 2002–03. This will enable the strengthening of staffing resources, which will allow them to improve all their services, including detoxification, capacity and structured day care provision.
SADAS is taking part in the combined national treatment agency and modernisation agency waiting times pilot. The current waiting times being reported by SADAS are shown in the table.
Waiting times Highest priority cases 1–2 weeks Treatment for under 25 year olds Up to 8 weeks Arrest referral Up to 12 weeks Low risk Up to 52 weeks It should be noted that the figures above measure the time from referral to treatment, and not from the first appointment, which may have occurred at an earlier date.