Our Open Access Treatment Centre
The Leila Memorial Centre (LMC) is designed to provide open access street treatment intervention to individuals, their families and significant others who are experiencing difficulties with their drug and / or alcohol abuse or dependency.
The LMC is the first of its kind in the West African Region, and aim to build upon the anticipated success in Ghana to all the other ECOWAS member state.
The service will provide the following interventions:
| Interventions | Description | Evidence |
| Advice and Information | The Service will routinely provide evidence based and current advice and information on drugs, alcohol and mental illness to all clients, families and carers presenting for treatment. This will include, where appropriate, harm reduction advice and support. The advice and information provided will take the form of both verbal and printed media and will be accessible to all individuals and will be available in a variety of languages and formats to take into consideration all circumstances. | The Service will log all routine calls for advice and information on an enquiry form, which captures key bio and geographical data.The service will keep a record of every visit to the LMC for information and advices on paper and electronic format |
| Referrals | The Service will accept referrals from other relevant statutory and non statutory organisations, including local NGO’sThe Service will refer individuals to other appropriate services, which best meet their needs with the view of maximising their benefit from local resources available to enhance their treatment out-come | The service will keep a record of all incoming and outgoing referrals to ensure accurate data collection and collationThe service will develop in collaboration with all relevant services a referral protocol and pathways to ensure credible joint working and ease of access to potential service users |
| Screening & Assessment | The Service will guarantee an initial screening and comprehensive assessment of needs to service users presenting for support and treatment intervention using evidence based screening and assessment tools adopted to suit the communities served | The Service will adopt the use of sensitive and reliable screening and assessment tools with empirical evidence of its adaptability to the local population to capture both substance misuse and substance misuse related needs |
| Toxicology | The Service will provide a saliva and urine drug testing service as part of its treatment and will monitor abstinence from continued drug use.The Service will also monitor harmful alcohol consumption through the use of Alco metres and Breathalyzers as part of its treatment intervention to service users who meet ICD-10 & DSM-IV-TR criteria for Alcohol dependency and are working towards safe use or abstinence | The service will keep a record of all drug tests carried out and their results in written and electronic formatThe service will keep a record of every breath alcohol analysis conducted both in writing and electronic format |
| General Health Checks | The Service will conduct a comprehensive health care assessment consistent with the needs of service users, using appropriate evidence based healthcare screening and testing tools with specific focus on Blood Born Viruses and Communicable diseases like HCV, HBV, HIV and Tuberculosis. There plans for the inclusion of Diabetes screening dependent on available fundingThe Service will provide vaccination where appropriate to service users with a negative screen result.The Service will establish a referral pathway for service users with positive screen result to appropriate government facilities for further Investigation, treatment and management | The Service will collect and collate all relevant statistics relating to screening and vaccination in both written and electronic formatThe service will maintain an active record of all referrals of service users with positive screen result to hospital for treatment |
| Psychological Intervention | The Service will provide evidence based psychotherapeutic interventions in the form of Brief Intervention (BI), Motivational Interview (MI), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) in both One to One Counselling sessions and in a Group Therapy format. | The Service will keep detail record of the number of Counselling sessions it offers to individual service users and the number / types of Group sessions it provides as a closed or rolling group. In both paper and electronic format |
| Mutual Aid groups / | The service will promote and encourage service users participation in mutual aid groups like Alcoholic Anonymous (AA), Narcotic Anonymous (NA), Cocaine Anonymous (CA) and Marijuana Anonymous (MA) | The Service will maintain a record of existing Mutual Aid groups and evidence the provision of support for service users to either join or develop new peer led Mutual Aid groups in strategic locations throughout Accra and its suburb |
| Spirituality | The Service will provide the opportunity and encourage service users to embrace Spirituality through the provision and facilitation of the 12 Step Programme and the Islamic 12 Step Programme. Thereby empower the service users the opportunity to make an informed choice in their recovery | The Service will maintain a record of both programmes and monitor service user’s participation. |
| Medicated Assisted Recovery | The Service will seek to provide substitute prescribing service to service users who are meet the DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10 criteria for Opiate dependency by initiating appropriately assessed substitute medication, stabilise, maintain and withdraw individuals under appropriate medical supervision.The Service will also provide medicated assistance detoxification to individuals who meet DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10 criteria for Alcohol dependency in the community and in In-patient detoxification unit in collaboration with the Addiction Unit in Korlebu Hospital | The Service will maintain a record of service user presenting with Opiate and Alcohol dependency requiring medically assisted treatment intervention both in Community and In-patient detoxification settingThe Service will also maintain a record of service users referred to relevant In-patient detoxification units both statutory and non statutory |
| Care Planning / Treatment Coordination | The Service will ensure that all service users enter into a collaborative and mutually agreed Individualised Care Plan which is reviewed at regular intervals with their named Treatment Coordinator | The Service will maintain a record of all individual care plans and monitor the ratio of service users to treatment coordinatorsThe Service will also keep a record of service users progress notes and evidence of their reviewed care plan at agreed intervals |
| Out-Reach | The Service will strive to provide and establish its presence in areas of high prevalence of substance misusers e.g. Hospital Accident & Emergency Department, Psychiatric Hospitals, Schools Colleges, Polytechnic and University Campuses. Including Criminal Justice Settings like Police Stations, Courts, and Prisons, in addition to Social Services sites. | The Service will conduct a local assessment of risk prior to agreeing to an out-reach presence and produce a record of such needs assessment. |
| Feeding and Welfare Programme | The Service will provide welfare support to its service users in the form of a free food programme, available twice daily (Am & Pm) 7days a week and a free clothes bank with facilities for maintaining personal hygiene in the form of bathing and washing facilities in a supervised and safe environment | The Service will keep a record of service users accessing these facilities and maintain accurate records of its benefits in encouraging engagement and retention in treatment |
