The new, more dangerous strain of COVID 19 has raised pressures facing substance misuse services to an all-time high. As more community workers contract the virus, and their close contacts and colleagues are forced to self-isolate, concern is growing for the welfare of service users and the challenges ahead. Let's... read more →
Jan
08
Nov
24
Forget knowledge is power, in a post-truth digital landscape it would seem conspiracy is the new currency. While vaccine opposition isn’t a new phenomenon, coronavirus presented a unique opportunity to online anti-vaxxers, commercial opportunists and indeed anyone looking to prosper from dealing in misinformation. As an organisation led by science... read more →
Oct
22
As many of you did, just last month I took part in A Mile for Recovery, to celebrate the incredible strength required to even begin the recovery journey. Living on a hill, I had decided to run one easy mile downhill, and the next uphill. As I ran downhill the... read more →
Jul
01
We live in deeply uncertain times. As the Black Lives Matter movement rails against racial injustice and the pandemic threatens to set women’s progress back decades, the lives of young people too have been turned upside down by unparalleled isolation and disruption. This collective pause has allowed many people to... read more →
Jun
29
In an effort to reduce the record number of drug-related deaths in the UK, there have been repeated calls for the introduction of supervised injection facilities (SIFs), but are we any closer to actualising them? Kaleidoscope CEO Martin Blakebrough makes the case for establishing a peer-led SIF in Wales, considering... read more →
Mar
24
A crisis such as this forces pressing issues to the foreground, issues that governments have long avoided taking sufficient measures to solve. Our under-funded health surface, often cruel welfare system and unacceptable numbers of street homeless are now frighteningly visible to all. But, as the country faces a shutdown unparalleled... read more →
Feb
18
Increased awareness of MUP and improved access to treatment services essential as legislation disproportionately affects low income drinkers. Under Welsh Government plans, minimum unit pricing (MUP) of alcohol will come into effect on 2 March 2020, and while the new rules might positively impact certain groups, Wales’ most chaotic drinkers... read more →
Jan
10
Wales is facing a public health emergency as drug related deaths rise to alarming levels. In this blog I examine how in spite of government support of current initiatives and largely unaffected drug treatment budgets in Wales, drug related deaths continue to rise unabated. It is my view that access... read more →
Nov
22
To what extent are integrated mental health and substance misuse services accessible and how can such services be delivered more effectively to address the specific needs of rough sleepers in particular? On 13 November I wrote a paper for and addressed the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee at the National Assembly... read more →
Nov
14
What services are available for rough sleepers who have co-occurring substance misuse and mental health problems across Wales? On 13 November I wrote a paper for and addressed the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee at the National Assembly for Wales as it is currently undertaking follow-up work on its inquiry into rough sleeping It is... read more →