‘Bottling it Up’ campaign testimonies part 2 
Published by Bottling it Up June 19, 2008 in Campaigns, Substance Misuse. 
Comments (1)
The following testimonies deal with the emotions of suffering and show how people have used different mediums to express their feelings. The first is a poem, and the second is an extract from a published book. If you have an opinion on the issues mentioned please leave a comment. For more information visit the ‘Bottling it Up’ area of the Turning Point website.
Continue reading ‘Bottling it Up’ campaign testimonies part 2
‘Bottling it Up’ campaign testimonies
Published by Bottling it Up June 4, 2008 in Campaigns, Substance Misuse. Comments (0)
The 2006 ‘Bottling it Up’ campaign aimed to raise awareness and examine the impact of parental alcohol misuse. The testimonies we received during the campaign will be republished here over the next five months for you to explore. We received comments from people of all ages, all with vastly different experiences. So if you have an opinion on the issues mentioned please leave a comment. For more information visit the ‘Bottling it Up’ area of the Turning Point website.
The testimonies below were received shortly after the campaign appeared in the media.
Continue reading ‘Bottling it Up’ campaign testimonies
Tackling alcohol problems in hospital
Published by Phyllis Cannon April 7, 2008 in Substance Misuse. Comments (7)
I am the Turning Point hospital worker at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead. Turning Point has three of us: my colleagues Geoff in Sunderland and Julius in Watford are doing the same thing in their local hospitals, seeing people who have drink problems referred from A and E and other hospital departments.
Yet it’s the doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff that get the ball rolling: they are the ones that identify patients for whom alcohol may be an issue, so we are in partnership with the NHS on this. They initiate discussions with patients about alcohol use and screen patients to determine if a referral should be made to us – the hospital alcohol workers. It is important to emphasise that contact with the alcohol worker is only arranged with the patient’s consent.
Continue reading Tackling alcohol problems in hospital
Alcohol Awareness Week 2008
Published by Steve Palmer April 4, 2008 in Substance Misuse. Comments (1)
Monday 7 April marks the start of Alcohol Concern’s Alcohol Awareness Week. This is an important week as it aims to raise awareness of the sensible drinking message among the general public and also persuade policy makers at both the national and local levels to devote greater resources to alcohol treatment.
During the week all blogs uploaded to this site will be about alcohol so please visit us again and see what’s new. Remember that you can also share your thoughts or experiences by leaving a comment below.
Until then you can read Ronnie’s story.
For more information please visit Alcohol Concern’s website.
“So I messed up again and felt so ashamed”
Published by Ronnie February 8, 2008 in Substance Misuse. Comments (14)
Well my story started about four years ago when I was sitting on a park bench very drunk. I started talking to a woman who said she could help me into detox. This was going to be my first time there. I was told that I had to come in with a drink inside me to help me prepare. Sadly, by the time I arrived, I’d had more than that to drink. I got there, I was seen and then I went to my room to get ready for a night where the drink would soon wear off. Continue reading “So I messed up again and felt so ashamed”
My involvement in the drug tender process
Published by Jim Keane January 11, 2008 in Case Studies, Service User Involvement, Substance Misuse. Comments (4)
Even in this day and age service user involvement can sometimes be seen as nothing more than tokenistic by the cynical among us.
Whereas, a few years ago I too would have been counted amongst the people saying just that sort of thing, I can no longer (hand on heart) say that’s what it is like now.
The drug contract for the Wakefield area was up for grabs and as part of Wakefield Turning Point’s bid, they decided (in their infinite wisdom) that this time they’d go and find out exactly what it is that the folk that accessed the services wanted.
Continue reading My involvement in the drug tender process
My story : the next phase
Published by Ken November 18, 2007 in Case Studies, Service User Involvement, Substance Misuse. Comments (10)
This is my third blog and things are going really well. Recently, we had an open day at our service and lots of local people were invited. I introduced the showing of the DVD that we had made as service users. In my speech I mentioned that the service has twenty-four hour staffing and we all have key workers; that we do classes on things like computers and cookery, and that we have a monthly meeting for service users. I was so pleased to talk about the independent living aspect of our lives at the service in South London. Continue reading My story : the next phase
Another day, another studio
Published by Ayesha Janjua November 16, 2007 in Case Studies, Substance Misuse. Comments (1)
I’m Turning Point’s spokesperson on substance misuse policy, so it’s my job to talk to the media about Turning Point’s policy and campaigns. I’d spoken to newspapers and magazines before, and written articles for substance misuse trade journals, but recently I’ve been presented with another challenge: performing on radio and on television.
Continue reading Another day, another studio
Alcohol debate in the news
Published by Steve Palmer November 13, 2007 in Case Studies, Government, Substance Misuse. Comments (2)
Today, The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has published a report which identifies alcohol consumption as a huge public health problem in the UK, and as a particular area where the Government should do more. It says that increasing tax on alcohol and restricting hours of sale have been shown to be effective in reducing alcohol consumption. They go on to say that the Government’s alcohol strategy has focused on public information campaigns and voluntary labelling schemes: measures, they claim, that have been shown not to be effective. Continue reading Alcohol debate in the news
A day in my life as a volunteer
Published by Katie October 31, 2007 in Case Studies, Substance Misuse, Volunteering. Comments (0)
My name is Katie, I have been a volunteer drug and alcohol worker at Turning Point in Bridgwater Somerset since the Spring of 2005. I volunteer every Thursday from 10 am until 4 pm. My volunteer role involves, needle exchange - provision and stock control, drop-in work with clients, admin tasks such as making and receiving telephone calls, booking appointments, taking messages and recording them in the message book etc. Continue reading A day in my life as a volunteer
