PostScript360 Impact Report 2021-22

Impact Report April 2021 - March 2022

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Registered Charity No. 1056508

At a glance

Our services

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Our activities

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Our Impact

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Why we are here

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The challenges we faced

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How we responded

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Outcomes and testimonials

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Financial summary

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Our thanks

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Contact Information

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PostScript360 Services

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Our activities Telephone Support Service. We provide practical advice, therapy, tapering schedules, reassurance and support through tailored recovery and support plans while tapering off Benzodiazepines and other similar prescription drugs safely.

Therapy 300 is a face-to-face group therapy service for those who live close to Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath, North East Somerset, and for those that do not live locally on video conference platforms.

Therapy 300 is for people who want to withdraw safely off Benzodiazepines (Benzos), other similar prescription drugs and to improve their emotional and social wellbeing.

Advocacy Service. Liaising on behalf of our clients when communications have broken down, we build bridges with their GPs and other health care services to have a better understanding and outcome for the client’s wellbeing.

Sharing our knowledge with health practitioners who come into direct contact with people who misuse prescribed drugs including benzodiazepines, Z drugs, sleeping pills, Pregabalin, Gabapentin and opiate-based painkillers.

Prevention awareness of the harms of prescription drug dependence and breaking down the barriers of stigma associated with dependence.

We are aiming to have 360 Clubs, which are peer-to-peer support clubs across the southwest England, England, and Wales for people to continue with their personal growth and wellbeing.

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Our Impact 10,649 inbound and outbound telephone calls of support through our Telephone Support Service, an average of 41 calls a day, mainly service users (clients), then concerned family members and health professionals seeking advice.

Provided 5,480 hours of oneto-one therapy sessions, an increase of 197% compared to last year.

We provided advocacy for 249 people, approximately 502 hours liaising on behalf of our clients to their GPs and mental health services.

Supported 323 people in recovery of complex cases.

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1,874 people called for advice and support of the harms and misuse of benzodiazepines and other similar prescription drugs.

Hosted 12 presentations, sharing knowledge of how best to support people with dependence, to drug organisations and mental health crisis teams, sharing our knowledge and how to support people with dependence.

Ran 20 campaigns on social media platforms about client’s life experiences, the harms of benzodiazepines, prevention awareness, dangers of mixing other drugs/alcohol with benzodiazepines, and alerting people of bad batches in the community, reaching over 51,000 people.

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Why we are here Our purpose is: To reach more people through group therapy and a telephone support service; to have a better chance of overcoming prescription drug dependence.

Grow our therapy groups in our communities, empowering participants to make better choices around their well-being.

To reduce the number of people misusing and developing a dependency of prescription drugs through prevention and awareness. To share our knowledge with health professionals who come into direct contact with people who use prescription drugs of dependency.

Be a strong voice for our community, building bridges on behalf of our clients when communications have broken down with health professionals.

To set up 360 Clubs, volunteer led peer to peer support networks throughout the Southwest, and eventually England and Wales.

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The challenges we faced From April 2021 to March 2022 The Prime Minister confirmed on the 24th of February 2022 domestic legal restrictions had ended, we had to learn to live and treat COVID like other infectious diseases such as flu. Prior to that, uncertainty remained high, furlough came to an end, and the Government’s plan B was introduced – mask wearing, vaccinations, vaccine passports, restrictions on gatherings, travel and working from home. 2021 was a year of stop, start, restarts, and reset.

PostScript360’s staff were well rehearsed from the previous year, and were prepared for the forth coming year, with an up-to-date phone system, CRM, and updated computers made operations run more efficiently. The COVID-19 pandemic and the downturn in economic recession has had a negative effect on many people’s mental health and created new barriers for people already living with mental illness, resulting in prolonged use, misuse, and illicit use of prescriptions drugs.

PostScript360 saw an increase of complex cases of: Eating disorders 10% Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) 6% Fibromyalgia 3% Borderline personality disorder 35% Self-harm 38% Sexual abuse and trauma 42% Suicide and suicidal ideation 28% Over 59% of people presented to PostScript360 had more than one illness, and several had a combination of all disorders mentioned above.

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This financial year has been challenging, less grants available relating to COVID 19 disruption, no more government support for charities that continued to work through the pandemic, fierce competition amongst other charities applying to charitable trusts, and at the same time charitable trusts receiving less funds from their own investments to support charities. Council Commissioning Groups ceasing to exist after 31st March 2022, changes that were put in place under the new Health and Care Bill set by the Government, to the Integrated Care System and Integrated Care Partnerships.

From April 2021 to March 2022, we survived by using our unrestricted reserves to cope with the unprecedented demand of our service and put our beneficiaries first .

In the first quarter of the year, it became very apparent that drug organisations were unable to cope with the high volumes of people with dependences to benzodiazepines, pregabalin and Z drugs. Drug organisations were referring people to our service, but without the necessary funding.

For many people living with mental health mood disorders, anxiety and depression, their condition/s has increased since the pandemic. People were experiencing difficulties getting appointments with mental health services or to get a diagnosis to understand their illness.

Over COVID -19 many patients’ prescriptions were often repeated and some dosages were increased; unknown to the patient they had built up a tolerance to their medication.

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This is extremely concerning especially when several GPs and mental health professionals are not following the NICE guidelines on benzodiazepines; they must only be used for short term use only (2-3 weeks). People had dropped off waiting lists for NHS mental health services and not being supported. When people managed to see their GPs, several had their prescriptions cancelled or given incorrect taper advice, leaving the patient to cope with withdrawal symptoms.

The looming mental health crisis fuelled by the aftermath of the pandemic and the economic recession means waiting times could get worse. This contributes to the high numbers of people self-mediating with benzodiazepines (tranquillisers) and similar drugs, and ending up with more people having a dependence.

People had more complex needs from Post COVID-19, such as bereavement, agoraphobia, loss of income and mental health disorders. PostScript360 saw an increase where patients' GPs had retired, where their new GPs had abruptly ended their benzodiazepine prescriptions. This lead to people buying prescription medication pills online from unregulated suppliers. There was a surge of young people self-diagnosing and self-mediating with Alprazolam (Xanax) with increased record numbers presenting to Accident and Emergency.

Recruitment was difficult over this financial period especially with increased demands of our services, people being furloughed, new employees having COVID 19 fatigue before starting their new role, or unable to adapt to a new working environment. PostScript360 advertised for trained practitioners, many were from drug agencies, however it soon became apparent drug workers did not have the skills or experience with people who had a dependence to benzodiazepines.

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How we responded 'All hands-on deck' was the first response to the volume of calls we received through the pandemic, PostScript360 staff were handling very complex cases from very distressed people. We increased and refreshed our training and support to all staff.

95% of clients told us that drug agencies do not understand prescription drug dependency, and 70% of mental health services excluded them if their problem is seen to be part of drug misuse. People ended up in a revolving door scenario with multiple visits to Accident & Emergency hospitals and Mental Health Crisis admissions.

Data showed that two-fifths of patients waiting for mental health treatment contact emergency or crisis services, with one-in-nine (11%) ending up in A&E, research by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. 64% wait more than four weeks between their initial assessment and second appointment. One-in-four wait more than three months, and one-in-nine wait longer than six months. Respondents living with severe mental illness - including eating disorders, bipolar disorder, and PTSD - were left waiting up to two years for treatment. Other people were left waiting up to four years for treatment for depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. 38% reported that they, or someone on their behalf, had contacted emergency or crisis services while waiting for their second appointment, while 39% said that waiting led to a decline in their mental health.

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We implemented a swift response procedure for our clients, on first contact with PostScript360 each person received a triage immediately, followed by an assessment as soon as possible, normally within the first week, and receiving a taper and support plan the following week. 80% of clients were tapering within the first month of contact, 16% was down to GP and pharmacy hold ups and around 4% of people were not ready to start their taper.

PostScript360 re-advertised after Christmas for practitioners, after several organisations had made redundancies or ended furlough, this time our approach was focused on applicants with experience from mental health services, nursing, or support work. We successfully employed new staff from a pool of worthy candidates.

April 2021 to March 2022 we supported 323 people to be dependence free from benzodiazepine, Z Drugs, and other similar drugs, with a remaining 56 people coming to the end of their taper schedule in April 2022.

Age range of people we supported in 2021-22:

The drugs of choice presented were:

We hosted 10 presentations to Mental Health Crisis teams, Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, and 2 presentations to drug organisations - Bristol Drugs Project and Developing Health and Independence.

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Outcomes Clients leave our services when they are drug free or have reduced to a low manageable dose of prescription drugs. PostScript360 has maintained its low re-representation to service, with only four service users re-presented to our service in 2021/22. A total of 98% of our clients have successful left our service dependence free. This is in contrast from Public Health England (PHE) reports, overall successful exits were 49% in 2020/21. Return to service PHE reports that of those in treatment 34% had more than three attempts at treatment.

PostScript360 will never standstill until benzodiazepines, Z Drugs, painkillers, and other similar drugs are prescribed correctly and do not cause dependence. We empower our clients with the tools to be resilient, to be dependence free from drugs that are harming them, to move forward, to have a happier and healthier life.

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Testimonials ‘I was at my lowest when I called your telephone number, I had just spoke to my new GP to repeat my prescription, my GP spoke to me as if I were a drug addict and suggested that I go to a drop-in centre for addiction. I put down the phoned and I just cried and I felt suicidal, I could not live this way anymore. I am a pensioner, I had brought up my children, never smoked or drank alcohol and this new GP was calling me an addict, I felt so ashamed.

'I remembered that I had picked up one of your leaflets at the surgery when the first lockdown had eased, and luckily found it in my handbag, believe me when I say this, you were my last hope before ending my life. I phoned and a lovely lady answered my call, she listened to me, told me that PostScript360 is non-judgmental and a confidential service. She explained that the charity’s aim is for me to overcome prescription drugs at a measured pace to reduce withdrawals as safely as possible and to address the issues of what led me to take them in the first place. The lady was so kind, and because of her kindness I could not stop crying, it just all came out, finally I was speaking to someone who understood me.

I now can see a way forward and believe me when I say this, your service has been a gift of life to me, I do not feel alone anymore, I am more like me, I look forward to our group sessions, and I don’t feel frightened anymore. I wanted to thank you because if I had never phoned you, I would have gone against my religious beliefs and ended my life’. JL, Yate,.

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Testimonials ‘

‘What a difference – I eat three times a day, I go for daily walks, I wash and clean, I was a right slob before I joined PostScript360, I no longer have a dependence, I no longer spend wasteful hours on the internet trying to find benzos sites, imagine – now I am looking for a job!’ NP, London I have my life back, I can think, read, watch TV and converse to my family and friends, I have taken up running too, none of this would have been possible without the amazing help and support from the PostScript360 team's. LB, ‘My son is now reducing properly, no longer buying from Bristol dealers, through your invention with our GP, my son is on a manageable taper plan and all the family are now seeing bits of the old DXXX, he now looks forward for your calls, and seeing others at Southmead Hospital at your groups, it has made all the difference to him, he now understands what this drug is doing to him, thank you so much, I thought we had lost him to drugs, I don't know how you do it but you found him ’.

Mrs S, Kingswood, Bristol

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Financial summary

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Our thanks go to: The John James Bristol Foundation, The Hedley Foundation, Albert Hunt Trust, Jack Lane Trust, The family and friends in memory of Bryn Lambrick, Our clients, their family, and friends for their contributions.

Rob Farrow for his dedication and tenacity as Chair Trustee, who stepped down April 2022.

Rob has taken up a new role as Treasurer overseeing the charity’s finances.

East Wing, The Kingswood Estate, Britannia Road, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 8DB Tel: 0117 966 3629, Email info@postscript360.org.uk www.postscript360.org.uk Charity No.1056508, Company No.03169578 17