Agenda item

The Chairman invited the following officers and representatives to the table::

·         Bridget O’Dwyer, CCG Senior Commissioning Manager (Substance Misuse Service, Barnet and Harrow Public Health Team)

·         Sophia Cassettari, Substance Misuse Service, Barnet and Harrow Public Health Team

·         Bob Ryan, Assistant Director at Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust (BEHMHT)

·         DevikaBoodram, Head of High Intensity Ward at the BEHMT

·         Alex Ewings, Quality, Governance and Assurance Manager at the London Ambulance Service

·         Chris Munday, Commissioning Director (Children and Young People), London Borough of Barnet.

The Chairman introduced the report.

Ms O’Dwyer and Ms Cassettari gave a presentation to the Committee on the topic, concerning prevalence, origins and issues that legal highs present. The Committee requested that the presentation be circulated to them after the meeting.

The Chairman asked about the difficulties the London Ambulance Service had experienced as a result of legal high use. Mr Ewings said one of the biggest problems was the uncertainty around the 280 plus permutations of the substances contained within legal highs, making it hard to treat patients. Mr Ewings mentioned that Barnet CCG receive two or three reports a month about verbal or physical abuse but it is not known how many of these reports related to new psychoactive substances (NPS). He informed the Committee that many are associated with other conditions such as mental health. The Chairman thanked the ambulance service for all their hard work.

Ms Boodram informed the Committee that many of the patients who come to the unit at BEHMHT have displayed very aggressive behaviour whilst in the Trust’s care. She clarified that the incidences of patients being admitted as a result of NPS use had risen but noted that it is hard to distinguish between genuine mental health issues and issues arising from the use of NPS. She informed the Committee that there is currently no screening available for NPS in the way that illegal drugs can be tested for. The uncertainty concerning exactly what patients have taken also makes it difficult to medicate.

Ms O’Dwyer told the Committee that work was being done to try and tackle the problem. A more streamlined referral system and one point of contact were some of the solutions. Also, she thought a higher emphasis on educating people about the dangers of taking these substances.

Mr Ryan agreed that education was the key to tackling the problem but pointed out some individuals are not willing to engage with help offered to them. Services are now being more proactive in promoting care, approaching individuals rather than waiting for them to seek help themselves.

Mr Munday stressed that it was important to ensure schools were engaged with such services as part of an overall programme rather than it being treated as an isolated topic. Ms O’Dwyer and Ms Cassettari explained that Middlesex University and Barnet College had been approached in order to help raise awareness of the problem.

Councillor Anne Hutton asked whether there was a tie-up across other London Boroughs. Ms O’Dwyer said that other boroughs such as Harrow were doing the same work as Barnet. They also have links with the North Central London Network.

Councillor Graham Old asked how it was possible for the London Ambulance Service to state ‘we do not tolerate abuse of any kind?’, as mentioned in the appendix they provided with the cover report. Mr Ewings explained that cases of abuse had been taken to the Magistrates Court and the individuals successfully prosecuted. The service also works closely with the Metropolitan Police with several prosecutions having occurred.

RESOLVED – The Committee noted the report.