Family Support Services (Inverclyde)

Inverclyde HSCP requires a Family Support Service to support families affected by substance use. This service will adopt a Whole Family Approach and the main principles of Family Inclusive Practice in its delivery. The Family Support Service will work towards the principle actions for families outlined in “Families Affected by Drug and Alcohol Use in Scotland: A Framework for Holistic Whole Family Approaches and Family Inclusive Practice” (2021). This document provides an evidence-based framework for the delivery of the Whole Family Support Service. These recommendations resonate with both the Quality Principles: Standard Expectations of Care and Support in Drug and Alcohol Services as well as the more recent Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards: Access, Choice, Support (2021) . Both of these documents should be embedded into the Whole Family Support Service, including informing monitoring of the impact of the service. The Family Support Service will be responsible for developing, maintaining and delivering a range of support services in Inverclyde in partnership with families and support groups affected by someone else’s alcohol or drug use as well as peer led family support groups, ensuring an effective response to the overall needs. The service will ‘improve accessibility to high quality whole family approaches for families affected by substance use’, supporting each family member of a family, in their own right, as well as; being free from stigma and judgement, fostering hope and positivity whilst encompassing Families rights. After consultation with local service providers, service users and carers groups. The following recommendations when delivering a whole family support service were made: Choice in service response for individuals such as family group work and one-to-one support Support services provided across a range of communities which has the aim of reducing barriers to access Tailored to meet the family support needs of distinct groups within our community (for example women, younger people – not an exclusive list).