Page 11 - MELD Stimulant service

7

6 STIMULANT SERVICE AIMS

Through consultation with the Corra Foundation to discuss COVID-19 barriers,
it was agreed that MELD would approach individuals who met the stimulant
project criteria and whom were currently engaged in the MELD service. We
also advertised the project externally including social media platforms such as
websites and Facebook and word of mouth to other appropriate services and
colleagues. Another aim of the project was to encourage increased female
participation due to the rise in drug related deaths for this group. We are aware
as a service that we receive a higher number of male referrals per year.

Female drug related deaths increased from
366 in 2020 to 397 in 2021.
An increase of 31

6.1 INTERVIEWS

During the first part of the study, semi-structured interviews were undertaken
with people with living experience of stimulant drug use to explore their
experiences of accessing (or not accessing) psychosocial support for their
stimulant drug use. In the initial stages, 25 clients were recruited of mixed
gender. Due to the delay in the project being implemented, this number
reduced to 20 participants.

Females 13
Males 7

6.2 APPROACH

Motivational interviewing (MI) was central to conversations held with
participants. This approach enabled individuals to identify aspects of physical
and emotional health that they wanted to focus on in relation to their personal
circumstances and to support positive engagement. Empathy and active
listening were crucial to relationship building and each individual was contacted
prior to the project starting, to discuss the aims of the project and answer
questions and/or concerns.

Appointment times were arranged around each individual’s current
commitments and the Senior Peer Support Worker kept in touch with
participants on a weekly basis. This ensured that if participants faced any
barriers, including issues such as childcare, travel or employment, we could
deal with this in enough time to ensure consistency of attendance.
Complementary therapy treatments were discussed on a week to week basis
to identify what treatment(s) were best suited to the individual. This was
undertaken through a holistic assessment and weekly discussions took place
between the holistic therapist and individual to ensure that treatments were
still meeting individual need and expectation.