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Using commissioning and contracting to review and improve services
Gary Wallace, Plymouth Drug and Alcohol Action Team Manager, Public Dispensary, Plymouth
Abstract
Commissioning in drug and alcohol services has been the buzz word of the last few years for NTA, Home Office and Department of Health. However, I contend that it is an often misunderstood term, not least by some of my DAAT commissioner colleagues. In many areas it has come to mean a rigid separation between purchasers and providers, an uncritical focus on price to the detriment of quality and a means of doing what has always been done at an ever lower unit cost.
I will present an alternative approach, which while having due regard to the principles of value for money, is an inclusive process, focused on drug treatment as a whole system, which involves service users and service providers, implements the evidence and both leads and supports developments which lead to better services.
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Biography
Gary Wallace has worked in the drug field for a long time (some would say too long). He has been a practitioner, manager, researcher, and commissioner. Based in Public Health, he is currently the DAAT manager for Plymouth, a position he has held for the last seven years.
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