RESULT4addiction improving addiction outcomes
Annual Report
1/4/2022 to 31/3/2023 for the
Charity Commission
registered charity number 1185891
RESULT4addiction
improving addiction outcomes
Aims and purposes
The sole purpose of the charity is to maintain and develop a website to help people who have an addiction problem. The website is to be found at http://www.result4addiction.net/ The aim is to help to improve the outcomes for people who have addiction problems. It is recognised that people with a wide range of educational achievement come within the orbit of the website resource and, therefore, a secondary aim is to make the content widely accessible by using plain English across the main topic areas and scientific language only as visitors drill down into the detail of a topic.
Objectives
The website’s primary aim of improving addiction outcomes is pertinent to both individuals who have or are in recovery from an addiction problem and to health and social care practitioners who are trying to help them. The objectives are:
1. To support members of the UK public with drug and alcohol problems to…
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a) self-assess their addiction problem anonymously and monitor progress to recovery
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b) understand the nature of addiction problems
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c) understand the nature and benefits of treatment
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To provide information to members of the UK public who may wish to…
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a) support family or friends who have an addiction
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b) learn more about addictions
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To provide screening for people worried about their drinking or drug taking to…
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a) check out their substance use
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b) check out national and international comparisons of substance use
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To support practitioners in drug and alcohol services to…
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a) assess and monitor the severity of service users’ addiction problems
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b) provide education to practitioners on the nature of addiction problems, the expected outcomes from addiction treatment, and the evidence supporting many of the commonly used addiction treatment outcome measures
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c) provide a means of monitoring practitioner performance – typically with a supervisor
The rationale for the website and a brief history
The result4addiction project was started in 2016 by Drs Duncan Raistrick and Gillian Tober who had been Consultants, respectively in Psychiatry and Psychology, at Leeds Addiction Unit for over 30 years. Following the Health and Social Care Act 2016 the commissioning of all substance misuse services was removed from the NHS and placed solely with the Local Authority and over the next few years NHS addiction services were greatly diminished. The project, which became a charity in November 2019, was seen as one contribution to filling the gaps left by the reduction of NHS provision. The website went live in 2018. Mark Bisson, retired senior NHS addiction nurse with extensive clinical, research and teaching experience, joined the project in 2019 and all three contributors became volunteers and Trustees of the charity when it was established and now manage the website.
Activity 2022-2023
The first chart below shows weekly visits for the year 2022/23. Overall traffic to the website has been running at around 40-50 visits per week. This is a drop on the previous year and the Trustees have discussed how we might turn this around. The peaks are usually related to sending out mail shots to practitioners…
The second chart shows the most popular content…
Unsurprisingly the most activity, 37.8% of all contacts, comes from across the UK, which is our target audience. Many other countries have some activity: the United States 14.6%, the Philippines 9.1%, India 7.5%, Canada 3.7% are the most active.
Important achievements this year and future intentions
A new emphasis on practitioners
The original website was heavily geared towards a comparison of outcome measurement scales and learning materials pertinent to improving addiction outcomes. As the site has evolved we have shifted the emphasis to practitioners. The section for practitioners has been further enhanced by adding new video discussions and demonstrations of good practice.
We have developed three training modules for practitioners to gain knowledge and competence in aspects of addiction and its treatment. The modules are:
‘Talking to People’ – a basic introduction to evidence based consultation skills suitable for dealing with addiction problems; ‘Psychopharmacology’ – properties and effects of drugs of misuse and some medical interventions; ‘Psychosocial Interventions’ – exploration of commonly practised, NICE recommended treatments of substance misuse. Two further module, ‘Comorbidity’ and ‘Outcome Measurement’ are planned for development in 2023/24.
Each module contains instructions for learning, convening study groups, reflecting on knowledge gained and uses the website material to support the learning journey.
It is our hope that the uptake of these modules will increase use of the website. We are wanting to get feedback from learners and then we are looking to run a promotion of the modules. We will continue to send out mailshots every 2-3 months to alert subscribers to any new developments and to maintain interest in the site.
Cost savings
Virtually all of the costs of running the website are due to software package licences. The applications we have been using are excellent but the functionality has in several cases been more than that needed or more than justifies the cost. We have, therefore, spent time finding suitable applications at considerably lower costs.
Structure, governance and management
RESULT4addiction is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation of Trustees only (foundation CIO). The Trustees meet informally every two weeks or so and hold formal meetings every three months with minutes recorded. The business of the charity is straightforward to enact and tasks are divided between the Trustees who work on a voluntary basis for the charity.
In the next 12 months we are looking to recruit a fourth Trustee who has current involvement with addiction services and in particular staff training.
Administrative information
The charity does not have a physical base. Contact can be made by email result4addiction@gmail.com
The three Trustees are Duncan Raistrick, Gillian Tober and Mark Bisson. To see the credentials of the Trustees visit https://www.result4addiction.net/about-us
Financial review
This is the financial statement for the Charity’s financial year April 2022 to March 2023. Receipts were from a single donor. Outgoings are almost entirely due to software platform licence fees. The costs incurred are reduced from the previous year.
| Receipts and Payments Account | Receipts and Payments Account |
|---|---|
| Receipts/bank balance Donations Cooperative bank Total Payments Squarespace FlippingBook Academia subscription Infogram Qualtrics KwikSurvey Other Total Bank balance Cooperative bank end of year balance |
2021/22 £ 2022/23 £ 3,576 3,289 738 0 4,027 |
| 230 322 719 719 82 29 312 340 1,985 0 0 187 83 223 3.373 1,820 |
|
| 738 2207 |
The ‘other’ category of expenditure was a Filmora video editing licence and catering costs. There were no other miscellaneous costs. Next year Qualtrics and KwikSurvey will be replaced by Typeform at a much lower cost.
The only tangible asset of the charity is its website – it is not known whether the website has any financial value but we assume not. The charity benefits from all activities being conducted from the Trustees’ residences using personal equipment and study areas for which no charge is made to the charity. The charity also benefits from the time given by the Trustees to operating the project and the Trustees cover their personal incidental expenses.