Ms Anita Harris:

That we all keep ignoring early intervention is why children are rarely mentioned, if ever, in any national drug strategy. I looked at two actions and all they referred to was hidden harm, identifying risk and mitigating the risk against children. That is the extent to which our current national drugs strategy addresses the issue of children. There is absolutely nothing else in this regard. We do not have any national protocols. We have two Departments that hold responsibility and we cannot escape that reality. At the moment, early intervention cannot happen because there are no clear national protocols. First, which Department holds the lead? There is no reason it cannot happen. Many years ago, good practice guidelines were developed for methadone prescribers and addiction recovery bodies. There was often conflict over how each side worked. Following work done together, national guidelines and good protocols were developed, whereby both sides were considered and there was agreement.

Where early intervention is concerned, people need to feel safe, as Mr. Slattery said. When we are talking, and we really need to, about why parents wait until the very end, when their backs are against the wall and they have lost nearly everything, before they seek treatment, we should realise it is because they are terrified their children will be removed. That this is occurring is not rational; it is irrational, and it is being compounded by policy every time. People talk about mandatory reporting where there is substance misuse. Where a parent is in question, there needs to be mandatory reporting. Andy and everybody else talked about the punitive element. We can never do prevention until somebody who feels they have an issue with alcohol or drugs can actually go to their primary healthcare centre or GP, under a health-led approach that regards them as having an illness like anybody else’s, and have a service provided. We need to recognise it is very rational for parents to be terrified to seek help.