About Birmingham DAT

Drug Action Teams were established by the Government in 1995 to ensure the strategic co-ordination of local action on drug misuse. Since January 1998, Drug Action Teams have been pursuing the national strategy laid out in ‘Tackling Drugs Together to Build a Better Britain’.

What does Birmingham Drug Action Team (BDAT) do?

BDAT ensures that the work of local agencies is brought together effectively and that cross-agency projects are co-ordinated successfully. BDAT makes strategic decision on expenditure and service delivery within the four main divisions of the National Drugs Strategy which are, Treatment, Young People, Communities and Availability. BDAT's main role is to commission services appopriate to the needs of local communities, monitor and report on performance and communicate plans, activities and performance to stakeholders.

Birmingham DAT’s priorities include:

increasing the number of drug users accessing treatment services;
ensuring that more users can access treatment services more quickly;
improving the effectiveness of the treatment journey for drug users, parents, carers and concerned others;
continuing to roll out the Drug Intervention Programme, a project designed to break the cycle of drug use and crime by ensuring that drug users who are committing crime receive treatment;
continuing to develop drug services for children and young people; and
supporting local people concerned about drug use in the area where they live or work.

BDAT commissions a range of services across the Birmingham area, aimed at supporting problem drug users. These include:

shared care for substance misuse (GP Prescribing);
community drug teams (CDTs) and other specialist treatment provision;
mother and baby services;
specialist crack service users;
blood borne virus service;
detoxification and rehabilitation;
structured day care;
specialist and community needle exchange and pharmacy provision;
outreach work with homeless and vulnerable groups; and
young people’s services.

A variety of support and follow on services are also available including:

tenancy support
education and employment services to back up treatment and sustain recovery.

Over the last two years, substantial developments have been made through the Drug Interventions Programme. The programme provides clear pathways through drug treatment and other services for those with offending and drug related problems. There has also been increased investment in the expansion of services within the primary care sector, aiming to improve involvement of users and carers in service development. Most services deal with mainly Class A drug users but some offer services for problematic use of other drugs including cannabis.