The Essential Drug Service Manager

 The Essential Drug Service Manager
 Ian Robinson,
 Drugscope, London
 ISBN: 1904319467

 £9.99

 Star rating: 4/5

This book is one of the titles from the essential series, written by experienced professionals. Each of these titles represents excellent value for money, is user-friendly, attractively presented and written in an engaging style.

The author expertly guides the reader through the world of a drug service manager – beginning with the national context, moving through a range of requirements of the role, and finishing with a section on service user involvement.

Section five on care management and section six on managing the workforce are the most detailed parts of the book, offering guidance and templates for addressing a range of factors such as care planning and managing staff performance. These two sections will be particularly helpful to readers, principally with regards to understanding how a thorough care plan should be developed.

Three of the book’s sections could do with more depth. Section nine would benefit from a greater focus on evaluation as this is an important component of any service and goes hand in hand with monitoring. In section 11, on partnerships and joint working, greater detail on how to make these relationships work in practice would be welcome. And examples from services which have successfully achieved user involvement would be of use in section 13.

This text will offer existing and potential drug service managers guidance in all aspects of their role. It is written in a straightforward style with accessible language and should be on the shelf of every drug service manager.

Charlotte Pearson is commissioning and planning officer for Denbighshire social services