Clive Wolfendale
Blogging was a regular feature of workplace routine during the last three years of my previous job. I know that the pieces sometimes bored, occasionally irritated and even, once or twice, enraged the readers. I also know that a surprising number of people (from all over the world) tuned in and that my ramblings, now and then, provided a little food for thought - and provoked the odd smile.
As any serious blogger will tell you, turning out a regular and worthwhile text is not easy. The muse is not always favourably disposed and, in the grand scheme of things, there’s always something more important to do. On the other hand, blogging presents an opportunity to those charged with some sort of responsibility to communicate, on their own terms and in their own way, with those whom they work with and for.
So I was very much in two minds, on taking up my position with CAIS, about whether to continue with the exercise. I had all but decided to save myself the grief until I came across 39 year old Mao Xinyu, youngest general in the 2.5-million-strong People’s Liberation Army of China. He is blogger, lauded by the People’s Daily website for producing the “most attention-grabbing” blog of the year. http://blog.people.com.cn/blog/s/92732 So, if there’s room in the blogosphere for the grandson of Chairman Mao, I guess there’s room for me.
I’m now three weeks into my role with CAIS and, as with any new job, there’s a lot to learn and to do. I’ll share at least some of the journey with you. For starters, let me try to explain why I’m here. Well, I spent 33 years policing the urban sprawl of Manchester and, latterly, the greener pastures of North Wales. During that time I saw the lives of countless individuals and families blighted by the effects of drug and alcohol addiction. As a police officer I believe I did my best to bring to justice those who preyed on the weak and vulnerable and to ease the lot of victims both of criminality and addiction. However, I have always been conscious that this is, at best, just a sticking plaster on some of the acute diseases that inflict our society. Working with CAIS therefore presents, for me, an opportunity to make a more profound impact on the scourge of addiction. In Wales, there has never been a better time to be involved in this work. The Welsh Assembly’s Substance Misuse Strategy articulates a progressive but realistic programme for the next ten years. http://wales.gov.uk/topics/housingandcommunity/consultation/closed/workingtogether/?lang=en Here are some of the awful facts, taken from the report, that make this work essential.
Summary of Harms
· Alcoholic liver disease is responsible for around 1,600 hospital admissions per year.
· Over 54,000 incidents of violent crime in Wales in 2006-07 were linked to the consumption of alcohol.
· The health service cost in Wales of problem drug use has been estimated at £17.6 million per year.
· The total economic and social cost of Class A drug use in Wales has been estimated to be around £780 million, and drug related crime accounts for 90 per cent of this.
· 20 per cent of Welsh adults admit to binge drinking.
· 30,000 bed days are related to the consequence of alcohol consumption.
· As many as 129,000 recorded crimes in Wales in 2006-07 were drug related.
· The estimated health service cost in Wales of alcohol related chronic disease and alcohol related acute incidents is between £70 million and £85 million each year.
· The economic and social costs of alcohol and Class A drug misuse in Wales is estimated to be as much as £2 billion each year.
The title of the WAG report is “Working Together to Reduce Harm”. Let’s see what we can do.