Services Database Supervised Consumption

Supervised consumption aids adherence and can be helpful to reduce the risk of diversion and safeguarding issues. Additionally, more frequent contact can enable development of a therapeutic relationship and provides additional opportunities for providing timely and supportive advice, escalation of concerns and monitoring of the service user prescribed OST. It is important that supervised consumption is considered for all new prescriptions and that the dispensing arrangements are liberalised as soon as it is safe and clinically appropriate to do so; however, it may be reinstated when required to manage risks accordingly. Community pharmacies are ideally placed to provide supervised consumption and support services for service users prescribed OST within an agreed and structured protocol.

The main aims of this support service are:

• Deliver a service using a user-friendly, non-judgemental, person-centred, and confidential approach
• To provide supervised consumption where required
• To provide service users with regular contact with healthcare professionals and help them to access further advice and assistance when required
• To support the integration of community/pharmacy care provision with specialist substance misuse services
• To support service users’ personal recovery journey in the community to achieve a healthy life
• To support evidence-based harm reduction interventions Service Level Agreement for Pharmacy Supervised Consumption
• To reduce the risk of diversion of prescribed medicine through the provision of a supervised consumption arrangement.