2008 December 02

Recovering drug addicts forced from substance misuse service

Methadone

By Faith Orr

Recovering drug addicts in Aberdeenshire are being forced to look elsewhere for treatment after a doctors surgery shut down its substance misuse service.

The Finlayson Street surgery in Fraserburgh have made the move following the retirement of Dr Sandy Wisely, who was made famous when he revealed the abundance of reforming drug addicts in the area and began freely handing out prescriptions for methadone and other drug replacement therapies.

The move has sparked fears of an increase in suicides and crime in the area.

Former drug addict, Colin Clark, told of his experiences at suddenly being taken off methadone: “It wasn’t good, the last time I saw Dr Wisely he gave me my usual prescription and when I went in to get my next one there was another doctor who said that Wisely had left and everyone was getting put on a reduction.

“My reduction started two days later and I was told I was to be taken off at a rate of 10ml a week. When I reducing I was okay but when I came off methadone altogether, I had to miss work as I had ill effects. Some of my friends even had seizures.”

This severe reduction is in contrast to government guidelines which suggest that for extreme cases methadone should be reduced by a maximum of 3 to 5 millilitres every week.

Devin Brown of Solid Rock Cafe, a drop-in centre for drug addicts in Fraserburgh, said: “I truly think Dr Wisely had a good heart when he started putting patients on oxycontin, nitrazepam, diazepam, opiates, sleeping tablets and valium but over the past 15 years he has created a monster.”

Devin also added that although he thought the scheme was ‘mental’ and would be tough for addicts, the reduction could partly be a good thing because it will force addicts to face their problem and take action.

Dr Wisely’s former patients will be referred to the alternative Kessock Road Clinic, but there is a six month waiting list for methadone treatment.

Colin, 32, added: “Now that I’m drug free, I suppose the reduction programme worked for me, although it was a nightmare at the time. I know other reforming addicts in the area are turning to crime to pay for drugs because they can’t get treatment at the Kessock. They are prioritising people for treatment now and people with children and those who are working are being put nearer the top of the list but even they still have to wait far too long.”

Chuggers strike back

Face-to-face fundraisers on a busy shopping street

By Euan Black

Street fundraisers have reacted furiously to reports of “chuggers” being untrustworthy.

A mystery shopper survey of 50 fundraisers, by charity watchdog Intelligent Giving, found many of them were breaking the law and their own code of conduct by lying about their wages, pressuring uninterested shoppers and changing information on direct debit forms.

The survey has led to a war of words between the watchdog and various charity organisations, including the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association and Professional Fundraising magazine.

A “chugger” (a combination of charity and mugger) working in Edinburgh, who asked not to be named, was “shocked” when shown the information: “This will give us all a false reputation. We do a hard enough job as it is without this sort of stuff.

“You can’t group us [street fundraisers] all together.”

He explained the fact that he and his colleagues worked for Face 2 Face Fundraising and that their code of conduct was stricter than those surveyed by Intelligent Giving.

One of the main grievances of the survey was the refusal of some fundraisers to back off when asked to do so. 15 of the 50 mystery shopped continued to press for donations. The anonymous fundraiser claimed: “I’m not going to harass people. We follow the ‘three step rule’: we can only take three steps towards a person. To get any closer we have to wait to be invited. If someone asks me to ‘walk with them’ I have to tell them I’m not allowed to.

“Pressure tactics don’t work. I’m not going to chase someone up the street because all I’m going to get is a slap in the face.”

Only 8% of the fundraisers admitted to the mystery shoppers that they were paid for the work, and even more worryingly, some were found to change information on direct debit forms to meet their targets. The fundraiser said he was transparent about his wages: “I get paid and I have to meet targets, and I am paid to meet targets. This is to ensure the organisation isn’t spending too much money on us.”

Despite the negativity surrounding these findings, the fundraiser was still upbeat about his work: “I feel like I’m doing a good thing. I’m normal, I’m in five grand of debt, so of course I want to get paid. I’d rather be doing this than working somewhere like PC World, doing a monotous, 9-5 job”.