South Gloucestershire

Tutor Judith Gait and a client in our art group

DHI delivers services to a wide range of service users in South Gloucerstershire. These include harm reduction and structured treatment services for people using drugs and alcohol, and for those affected by a family member or friend's use. We also provide advice and information on welfare, social and health issues through our social prescribing service at a GP surgery and our brokerage service for vulnerable people entitled to funding from social services. See below for more information:

Brokerage, Advice and Information Services

Our social prescribing service at the Orchard Surgery in Kingswood involves our staff meeting with patients who are seeing doctor frequently. We discuss with patients their non-clinical needs - practical, social or emotional - and help ietnify local services which could help them. As well as helping patients, this can lead to them needing to see doctors less often.

We also have a base (at the Kingswood Foundation) from where we run a service which helps vulnerable people, who may have a learning disability or physical disability, poor mental health, problems associated with old age. Our staff act as brokers who help them plan and organise the support they require using the budget assigned to them by social services.

Drug and Alcohol Services

DHI South Gloucestershire has treatment centres in Warmley and Yate and delivers services throughout the county, including within GP surgeries. We offer responsive and imaginative services, developed in consultation with the people who use them, aiming to improve the health and well being of all those affected by drug and alochol use.

We offer information and advice on reducing the harm from substance use. We offer access to harm reduction clinics, needle exchange and health screening and complementary therapies such as acupuncture and meditation.  People can move into our more structured services such as our day programme or receive prescriptions for opiate substitutes when they choose.

We also work with those who have been affected by a family member or friend's substance use through our families and carers service and support people in treatment to involve their families if they choose to.