This position statement from the Substance Misuse Faculty aims
to identify and clarify the role and contributions of consultants
with responsibility for substance misuse (addiction
psychiatrists).
The statement recognises that (a) consultant psychiatrists
with responsibilities for substance misusers are one part of a
multidisciplinary team in which key disciplines and professionals
have specific roles and contributions, and (b) that there are
particular groups of medical and non-medical professionals (eg
primary care teams, criminal justice agencies) with whom
consultants have mutually beneficial relationships.
Specific aims are:
1. to provide consultant psychiatrists with a comprehensive
outline of:
- the potential roles of those with responsibilities for
substance misusers
- the variety of professionals and disciplines with whom
consultant addiction psychiatrists work, liaise, collaborate and
co-ordinate services.
- the range of interventions provided by, and the spectrum of
settings in which consultant addiction psychiatrists
operate.
2. to provide a structure for the:
- definition of components for consultant posts (eg for Regional
Advisers to review job descriptions).
- description of the contribution of addiction psychiatrists for
trainees.
- accreditation of training posts, and
3. to provide non-psychiatrists with an outline of the role of
consultants in the organisation of services, and the system of
appraisal and accreditation in addiction psychiatry.
The document discusses the prevalence of substance misuse and
dependence (addiction); implications for psychiatry, and training
of specialist addiction psychiatrists. It then goes on to discuss
specific roles in relation to clinical work, facilitation and
liaison, training and education, planning, service development,
prevention and policy, and finally, the contribution to research
and audit.