Addictions Service

The Trust’s Addictions Service is a multidisciplinary team of Doctors, Nurses and Social Workers based at 3 Church Street, Newtownards. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive range of services for adults suffering from an alcohol/drug related problem.

The service offers a range of interventions in a variety of settings. These include:

Addiction Clinics – these are satellite clinics based at Health Centres or other Trust premises. They are currently held at Bangor and Newtownards on a weekly basis and at Donaghadee, Portaferry and Holywood on a fortnightly basis
Health promotion/education/training interventions
Substitute Prescribing Clinic
Benzodiazepine Service for the Ards and Peninsula GP Practices
Drug reduction (community based)
Alcohol Liaison Service for the Ulster Hospital
Alcohol detoxification (community based)
One-to-one and group interventions
Dual Diagnosis Service for individuals with substance misuse and mental health problems
Carer/family support
Inpatient treatment - provided by Shimna House, Addictions Treatment Unit (Ward 15), Downshire Hospital. Seven beds are provided for the North Down & Ards population.

Individuals referred to the service need to provide their consent to being referred. This is normally done verbally, e.g. over the telephone.

Once referred, an individual can expect to be contacted by a member of the team within 7-10 working days with an appointment date for initial assessment. Following assessment, a plan of care is agreed which, if needed, may sometimes involve the service Doctor or GP prescribing medication, e.g. for alcohol/drug reduction or detoxification.

In general, individuals are normally seen on an outpatient basis at one of the clinics referred to above. In some instances, when people require inpatient treatment, they are admitted to Shimna House (Ward 15), Downshire Hospital. This is on a purely voluntary basis. The treatment period is 4 weeks and is mainly group therapy.

The service operates between 9am and 5pm weekdays but is closed on bank holidays and weekends.

You have the right to expect that your attendance and everything you say will not be passed on to anyone else outside the service without your prior written consent. However we have a legal responsibility to notify appropriate agencies when we believe a child may be at risk or there is a risk of serious harm to anyone.

We aim to help people who have problems with drug and alcohol misuse. However, staff cannot help people who are intoxicated by alcohol or drugs. For this reason we ask people not to arrive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This policy ensures the safety of all and enables everyone to get the most out of sessions.

If individuals turn up under the influence of alcohol or drugs at any time, they will be asked to leave the building and invited to return at a later date. No alcohol or illegal drugs are allowed on the premises at any time.

We will not tolerate aggression, threats, menaces or offensive behaviour towards staff, other clients or property.