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Targets for keeping drug users in treatment are to be included in star ratings of primary care and mental health trusts, writes Maria Ahmed.

The National Treatment Agency’s three-year Treatment Effectiveness Strategy, to be launched next week, will require trusts to retain drug users accessing treatment for “at least 12 weeks,” excluding short-term treatment.

Presenting a preview of the strategy, Annette Dale-Perera, NTA director of quality, said the “massive” drop-out rate of just over half of drug users in the early part of treatment was “unacceptable.”

From this year, retention in treatment will be a new quality indicator to improve on the current 52 per cent retention rate.

Dale-Perera told the all-party parliamentary group on drug misuse: ““Unless people are kept [in treatment] for at least three months, there is very little long-term impact.”

She said drug users had been particularly marginalised in mental health services, and called on primary care trusts to take more responsibility over alcoholism.

“The star ratings will get the health system to sit up and take notice of this unpopular client group who have previously been ignored,” she added.

The strategy also sets out targets of maximum three-week target of waiting times for treatment, and fast access for priority groups such as pregnant women and offenders. Local investigations will be required if service users wait longer than six weeks.

All individuals in treatment will be required to have an identifiable written care plan, with 95 per cent of service users involved in care plans by March 2008.

A briefing on the strategy can be found at: http://www.nta.nhs.uk