£1M DRUGS LIFELINE DELAYED AS DEATH RATE SOARS
Crucial IT system still not working eight years on
Aflagship computer system meant to help save the lives of Scotland’s drug addicts is mired in delay, we can reveal.
The NHS database designed to improve the treatment of users is still not operational eight years after first being discussed.
More than £ 1m has been spent developing the system but progress has been plagued by major problems.
The delays can be revealed days after official figures exposed Scotland’s drugs death rate as the worst in the developed world.
Frontline experts now fear the Drug and Alcohol Information System will never be operational. One said: “There are fundamental flaws. It is a hugely expensive and possibly unworkable joke.”
Aflagship NHS database meant to collect vital, life- saving details of Scotland’s drug addicts is still mired in delay after eight years and £1 million, we can reveal.
The Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISY) is intended to deliver a more accurate picture of the number of addicts seeking help in Scotland and detail their treatment.
How e v e r, frontline experts yesterday described the IT initiative as “an expensive, embarrassing joke” and said many suspected it would never be operational after a series of problems.
Critics say the failure to drive through what was hailed as a landmark initiative to improve the treatment of the country’s addicts is an embarrassment for the Scottish Government.
Last week, in response to figures revealing Scotland had the worst drug- death record in the developed world, ministers at Holyrood suggested their hands were tied because Westminster had not devolved the powers needed to tackle the crisis.
However, the DAISY initiative is a homegrown humiliation, according to experts. One senior source in a respected organisation working to protect addicts said: “This project has taken so many years to develop, it’s become an inside joke as to whether we will ever see it operational.
“One of the main reasons for the delay is that it’s been thought up by statisticians and policymakers, not frontline practitioners.
“They have kept adding ludicrously to the list things they expect the programme to monitor, with no understanding of how frontline service can cope with this burden.
“For years the Scottish Drug Misuse Database only collected data on first contact. Officials then added rereporting on treatment after three months, which was tried once before and was an abject failure because there was only a 20% take up.
“The p r o g ra m m e should be providing first class information that could really help us see exactly what is needed and where it’s needed to tackle Scotland’s drug and alcohol problem.
“But it’s now way too complex and its costing almost four times the original budget.”
The government initiated talks on DAISY more than eight years ago, a formal proposal was submitted in 2013, and a business case approved in May 2016.
The system was meant to replace two existing IT systems collecting crucial data on alcohol and drug addiction.
It was intended to bring together specialist treatment and prescription details while allowing health
professionals to analyse the data to identify trends and determine the most effective treatments.
Development has been plagued by problems, however, and its introduction – due 18 months ago – has been delayed several times.
In a letter to health professionals, Daniel Kleinberg, the Scottish G ov e r n m e n t’s head of health improvement, blamed “unexpected challenges” for postponing a launch in April.
NHS Ay r s h i r e & Arran had been tasked with pioneering the system brought in to supplant both the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Waiting Times and the Scottish Drug Misuse databases but later admitted it “did not have the capacity to complete the development to agreed timelines”.
The initiative has now been taken over by the government’s in- house IT team, NHS National Services Scotland. A training programme for health professionals and drug service providers will also be required.
Last week, official statistics revealed the number of drug-related deaths in Scotland climbed to 1,187 last year, tup 27% in a year.
The country’s drug death rate is now nearly three times that of the UK as a whole, and higher than reported for any other EU country.
Pathologist Marjorie Turner told The Sunday Post in May she saw 20 overdose victims a week, adding: ““The victims have usually taken a mix of drugs and possibly alcohol in addition to etizolam and fentanyl.”
Labour MSP Neil Findlay said: “The Scottish Government has declared the increase in drugs deaths to be a national emergency, but its own IT project, which is supposed to improve healthcare for users, is delayed by years.
“Despite all the money spent so far we are still nowhere near seeing this programme up and running.
“This is yet another failure of public policy in relation to Scotland’s drugs crisis.”
The Scottish Government said: “A proposal for a data collection system required for reporting on drug and alcohol treatment and outcomes at a local and national level was first received in 2013, and the business case for the Drug and Alcohol Information System was approved in May 2016.
“The total project spend since 2016 has been £1,043,895.
“IT development started in Oc t o b e r 2016, and has been subject to some adjustment in order to ensure the necessar y security requirements and system compatibility across all local areas.
“Development is expected to be complete this September.
“Training will then commence between September and December, and we expect DAISY to be in full use in early 2020.”