RESULT4addiction improving addiction outcomes
Annual Report
1/4/2023 to 31/3/2024 for the
Charity Commission
registered charity number 1185891
RESULT4addiction
improving addiction outcomes
Aims and purposes
The purpose of the charity is to maintain and develop a website to help people who have an addiction problem and those who help them. The website is to be found at http://www.result4addiction.net/ The aim is to improve 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. Gemma Hart, a qualified and experienced addiction practitioner, joined as a trustee in 2024.
Activity 2023-2024
The first chart below shows weekly visits for the year 2023/24. Overall traffic to the website has been running at around 40-50 visits per week. The peaks are usually related to sending out mail shots to practitioners…
The second chart shows the most popular content…
Unsurprisingly the most activity, 48.2% of all contacts, comes from across the UK, which is our target audience. Many other countries have some activity: the United States 14.3%, the Philippines 9.1%, India 4.4% are the most active.
Important achievements this year and future intentions
As we reported last year, 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:
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‘Talking to People’ - a basic introduction to evidence based consultation skills suitable for dealing with addiction problems;
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‘Psychopharmacology’ - properties and effects of drugs of misuse and some medical interventions;
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‘Psychosocial Interventions’ - exploration of commonly practised, NICE recommended treatments of substance misuse.
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‘Comorbidity’ – an introduction to the mechanisms of comorbidity, the epidemiology, and some basic guidance on how to intervene.
Each module contains instructions for learning, convening study groups, reflecting on knowledge gained and uses the website material to support the learning journey.
A fifth module, ‘Outcome Measurement’, is planned for development in 2025 and we are also planning turning the existing iSBNT Treatment Manual into a module. We are looking for partners who can a) provide an academic qualification and b) attract or direct learners to the modules.
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.
Most 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.
The costs incurred are reduced from the previous year. A number of different software applications have been tried in order to keep costs as low as possible: some of these have proved inadequate when the full functionality was tested and so other applications were then tried. It is usual to be given a free trial or demonstration of applications before committing to a subscription but free trials and demos tend to reveal what features applications have and to hide the detail of what they do not do. We are still in the process of deciding on which packages to use.
Administrative information
The charity does not have a physical base. Contact can be made by email result4addiction@gmail.com
The four Trustees are Duncan Raistrick, Gillian Tober, Mark Bisson and Gemma Hart. 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 2023 to March 2024. Receipts were from a single donor. Outgoings are almost entirely due to software platform licence fees.
| Receipts and Payments Account | Receipts and Payments Account |
|---|---|
| Receipts/bank balance Donations Gift aid Cooperative bank balance Total Payments Squarespace FlippingBook Academia subscription Infogram Typeform KwikSurvey Heyzine Other Total Bank balance Cooperative bank end of year balance |
2023/24 £ 2022/23 £ 253 0 3,289 0 2207 738 2460 4,027 |
| 322 322 0 719 71 29 342 340 180 0 0 187 73 223 74 1062 1,820 |
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| 1398 2207 |
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, for the most part, the Trustees cover their personal incidental expenses.