Showcase - Aberlour's No 1 Service

Residential Rehabilitation for parents with problematic substance use

Project Background:

The No 1 Service forms part of Aberlour's cluster of dependency focused family services in Glasgow alongside the Scarrel Road Service and Outreach team. These services provide the only drug and alcohol dependency rehabilitation service where children and their mothers can remain together during the entire rehabilitation process.

This increases their chances of success and allows them to work on other areas such as health, employment, training, relationships and family life.

The service aims to improve the wellbeing and opportunities of children, young people and their families by supporting them to address problems relating to parental substance use. This is achieved by working with families for around four to six months and providing a 21 day stabilisation stay for pregnant women.

Key Achievements: 21 Day Stay for pregnant women

The incidence of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, (NAS), has increased ten fold over the last decade in Glasgow. Behavioural and physiological symptoms of NAS include foetal distress and demise and impaired foetal growth.

On birth, the symptoms include an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome, a significant impact of the baby's ability to be comforted and it is associated with exaggerated startle reflex and tremors.

In recognition of both the potential impact of drug and alcohol use in pregnancy as well research indicating that women are highly motivated at points during pregnancy to reduce or eliminate substance use, the No 1 Service created a programme specifically tailored to the needs of pregnant women.

A unique service has been developed to support women to detoxify or stabilise on other prescribed medication. The vast majority of pregnant women the No 1 Service have worked with have had either no or insufficient prenatal care. All have had up to date care at the point of departure.

'The service was able to build up relationships with women who were very difficult to engage with in the community. workers really helped them link in with Social Work and other services' (Social Worker)

'I'd no parenting skills on admission, No 1 helped me improve them big time'. (Denise, 40)

Key Achievements – No 1 service overall

Substance Use
Women using illicit substances or alcohol problematically at the point of admission	100%
Women who had ceased problematic drug or alcohol use at the point of departure	76%
Women who achieved abstinence	48%
Women who were maintained through substitute prescribing	52%
Alcohol
Women used alcohol problematically on admission to the service	42%
Women who were abstinent from alcohol on exiting the service	100%

Key Achievement – parental access to health services:

For all women in the service Aberlour have been very successful in supporting women to eliminate illicit substance use and to achieve stability on full or partial completion of the programme.  Of note was the significant improvement in parental health.

Parental Health
Women who accessed GP for non substance related health issue	100%
Women who accessed non emergency dental treatment	86%
Women who accessed mental health services	42%

'One of the strengths of the service is supporting service users to access health services.  There are real improvements around her health (Addiction Worker)

To find out more, please contact Julie McGee, Service Manager at No 1 on 0141 337 6637 or visit their website: www.aberlour.org.uk/number1