Warwickshire’s alcohol action team recognised
A team tasked with reducing the harm caused by alcohol in Warwickshire has been short-listed for a prestigious national award for the work they’ve done to tell people about the dangers of drink and help them make informed choices.
Warwickshire County Council’s Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) have worked in partnership with the health authorities, borough and district councils, probation service, police and social care providers in Warwickshire to develop a range of information and products – all with the aim of reducing the harm caused by alcohol.
Their work is one of only three entries short-listed for the ‘Information Sharing’ award at the national Positive Practice Awards 2007, which are organised by the Care Services Improvement Partnership.
Kit Leck, Manager of the Warwickshire DAAT, said: “We’re delighted to be short-listed for this award and to have our efforts in Warwickshire recognised at a national level.
"We set out to produce information for Warwickshire residents that would both inform people of the dangers of drinking and give alcohol users, their carers and professionals working with people of all ages at risk of misusing alcohol, good information and advice.
“A big part of this was the development of our website, http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/drugs, which gives people access to alcohol advice, education on safe drinking limits, information about services in Warwickshire and a screening tool that can be used by individuals or professionals, all of which can be accessed 24/7.”
Other innovative work includes a project with young people from Leamington-based ‘Hybrid Arts’, who wrote, produced and filmed three DVDs about drug use, alcohol misuse and alcohol and teenage pregnancy – all in a ‘garage rap’ style - to be shown to schools and community groups. One of the films is currently being shown as a promotional advertisement at local Showcase cinemas.
Leaflets, wristbands and posters are just some of the items that have been distributed across Warwickshire and made available to libraries, GP’s surgeries, colleges and universities to promote the http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/drugs website and encourage people to think about their drinking habits.
The team have also produced a ‘safer pubbing and clubbing’ guide for 18 to 30 year olds, information on drink spiking for the PubWatch scheme and a CD-Rom on alcohol screening pathways and advice.
In September, they launched a ‘Streetwise’ information pack for young people at Warwickshire College’s Freshers Fayre.
The Warwickshire team will find out on Monday 17th December whether they have won the national award at an awards ceremony at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel.
The ceremony will be hosted by the BBC’s Dr. Mark Porter, presenter of ‘Watchdog Healthcheck’, Radio 4’s ‘Case Notes’ and a regular on Radio 2’s ‘Jeremy Vine Show’.