Lifeline Services in the South of England

Lifeline South has had a year of growth AND consolidation.  We started the New Year with the good news that we had won a contract for a Young Peoples’ Tier 3 Service in Enfield.  The service became live in April 2007. Whilst that development work was going on, we were also consolidating the Tower Hamlets Young Peoples’ Tier 2/3 Service.

Image above: Chosen by the women of the hackney women's service

The re-configuration of the Tower Hamlets Service has brought about many successes as recognised within the July JAR/Ofsted report which stated “An excellent, Integrated Drugs Treatment Service for children and young people offers very timely and effective interventions to young offenders. Lifeline provides specialist Tier 3 interventions and treatment and a CAMHS clinical nurse provides specialist support to individuals with serious dual diagnosis problems. Lifeline also supports targeted work with young people at risk of substance misuse, which has led to a marked increase in the number of referrals to specialist substance misuse services and in those accessing drug treatments.”

In July 2007, Lifeline was successful in securing a contract for a second service in Tower Hamlets.  The Adult Tier 3 GP Shared Care started from November 2007 and a year on,  the service is developing even further with the introduction of a new Tier 2 Needle Exchange which started on 3rd November 2008.

During late summer of 2007, Lifeline submitted a tender for a large Integrated Treatment Service in Hackney. Following a long wait we were awarded the contract in March 2008 and the service commenced on 1st July.  The services consist of:

• Open Access and Drop-In          
• Service
• Structured Support Service
• Day Programme and Aftercare
• Needle Exchange Service
• Women and Families Service
• GP Shared Care Service

The new Hackney service will be going through major changes during the course of the next few months as we reconfigure the 6 premises that house all of the current services and re-locate the Women and Families Service.

We are now looking to consolidate all the Lifeline South Services (Enfield, Tower Hamlets and Hackney), develop their provision and ensure they provide a comprehensive high quality service to our clients. We are aiming to enhance our clinical governance as well as providing the optimum in Health and Safety provision within all our services. This is a very exciting time for Lifeline in the South as we strive to develop our presence whilst also making sure the quality and inspiration in our service is kept at the forefront of our goals.

Jackie Kennedy
Service Manager – Lifeline London