Plans to ‘Colocate’ Health & Criminal Justice Substance Misuse Services in One Building

Plans have been put forward to combine two substance misuse services in one facility on the outskirts of the town centre.

In an application submitted on behalf of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board it has been proposed that Health and Criminal Justice Substance Misuse Services (SMS) in Wrexham are housed in the same building.

Currently Health SMS is provided at The Elms on Rhosddu Road – with Hafod providing services for Criminal Justice 150m away on Grosvenor Road.

If the plans go ahead both services would be housed at the Rhosddu Road facility.

Details provided within the application documents state that the proposals to combine the two services at The Elms will ‘create an integrated working partnership that best serves the interests and end goals of the clients in a single setting’.

The document continues onto say: “The colocation of services to one setting will enhance the service user journey through services from treatment to recovery and allow closer collaborative working between the two services.

“This will reduce the number of visits required by service users, by appointments for each service will be synchronised or combined into one appointment, therefore reducing footfall in the immediate vicinity.”

To accomodate the ‘colocation’ of services the application also proposes that ground floor extension is built at The Elms – which would be occupied by current staff and service users that use The Elms and Hafod.

The application’s Design and Access Statement explains: “It is not intended to increase numbers currently being supported between the two sites but to make it more attractive for people to engage with services and produce more positive outcomes’.

The collocated services will manage a combined caseload of approximately ‘500 to 600’ service users, all of which are residents in Wrexham County Borough.

Alternative locations such as a business park on the outskirts of town and the Wrexham Maelor Hospital were considered as two options for the services, however it was concluded moving such services away from the town would create a barrier to access.

Concerns were also raised that the lack of access / moving away from the town centre would result in service users dropping out of treatment.

The Design and Access Statement continues onto say: “Wrexham is a vibrant town with a bright future. By combining these services into one location more effective support can be given to the clients with the end goal of increaing the numbers of cluents who return to a substance free life, reduicng the impact of substance misuse on the local community and making Wrexham a more attractive place by better tackling this major cause of antisocial behaviour.”

The application will be decided by Wrexham’s planning committee at a later date.

*Picture – Google Maps