Alcohol and Drug Services

Alcohol and drug use

If you are concerned about your own or someone else’s alcohol or drug use, there are local and national services and resources that can help.

Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, you can contact our local Alcohol and Drug Services for advice and information:

East Ayrshire: 01563 574237 (Rapid Access to Drug and Alcohol Recovery – RADAR)
North Ayrshire: 01294 476000 (North Ayrshire Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service – NADARS)
South Ayrshire: 01292 559800 (South Ayrshire Treatment and Recovery Team – START)

Outside of these times, please call NHS 24 on 111 for advice.

In an emergency please contact 999.

Community Alcohol and Drug Services

Community Alcohol and Drug Services are delivered locally within East, North and South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (H&SCP) areas. In addition, we have an in-patient facility within Woodland View at Ayrshire Central Hospital, Irvine which provides supportive detoxification, rehabilitation and day attendance support. We also have an Ayrshire-wide Prevention and Service Support Team who offer alcohol and drug related training, education and service support.

What do we do?

We offer a number of different interventions including:

support to stop taking drugs and alcohol;
mental health services-related treatment and support;
physical and sexual health interventions;
injecting equipment provision (needle exchange);
opiate replacement therapy, medication prescribing and recovery support;
naloxone training and supply;
occupational therapy interventions;
alcohol brief interventions;
medication monitoring and management;
a recovery approach tailored to specific needs, with regular reviews;
a joint approach to help individuals identify recovery goals; and
support can include home visits and support to attend appointments.

North Ayrshire

In North Ayrshire, the community Alcohol and Drug service is an integrated NHS and North Ayrshire Council Alcohol and Drug service – the North Ayrshire Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service (NADARS). In addition to the interventions detailed above, this service also offers:

a range of recovery focused 1to1 and group work programmes covering a variety of topics including self management, relapse prevention, improving self confidence and self esteem.
social work assessment, interventions and Social Care related support.
peer recovery support

For more information and to access the service please see links below.

If you have any additional questions, please telephone NADARS on 01294 476000 or Email: aa.clinicaladdictionservices-northayrshire@aapct.scot.nhs.uk

Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards in North Ayrshire

The term Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) is used to refer to the use of medication such as opioids, together with any psychological and social support, in the treatment and care of people who experience problems with their drug use. These Standards have a significant part to play in helping vulnerable people affected by substance use.

Optimising the use of MAT will ensure that people have immediate access to the treatment they need with a range of options and the right to make informed choices. If an individual chooses this option within a robust Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC) they should expect to receive good quality, person centered care, immediately (if required) with supports into other services and opportunities for challenge and growth.

To read more about the national MAT standards please visit MAT Standards

For more information about our Local implementation on MAT Standards please visit: https://www.nahscp.org/mental-health-addiction/addiction/medication-assisted-treatment-mat

How to access residential rehabilitation in North Ayrshire

Anyone in North Ayrshire seeking support with an alcohol or drug problem can access a range of community and residential treatment and care options which best supports their individual recovery journey. Residential detoxification and shorter term rehabilitation support is available to all residents of Ayrshire and Arran within Ward 5, Irvine. Individuals seeking to access external Residential Rehabilitation (RR) support can do so via the NADARS who will support the development of a care plan, identify a RR Provider, seek funding and then support individuals into, through and after their external RR placement.

Click here for further information on how to access rehabilitation.

Click here for information on the the residential rehabilitation pathway.

East Ayrshire

In East Ayrshire, the Rapid Access to Drug and Alcohol Recovery (RADAR) service is in place which provides a single point of contact for anyone concerned about their own or someone else’s drug and/or alcohol use. The service provides rapid access to support and/or treatment for anyone affected by drugs or alcohol in the East Ayrshire area. For more information and to access the Service please see links below:

If you have any additional questions, please telephone RADAR on 01563 574237 or Email: aa.clinicaladdictionservices-eastayrshire@aapct.scot.nhs.uk

How to Access Residential Rehab in East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire offers access to both a comprehensive and holistic support package to those wishing to access a Residential Rehabilitation programme. It is available to those individuals who wish to make changes to their substance use issues by providing assessment, preparatory work and ongoing support. This support is offered by the Residential Rehabilitation Coordinator and be accessed by anyone who lives in East Ayrshire. Click here for full information and how to refer.

South Ayrshire

In South Ayrshire, The South Ayrshire Treatment and Recovery Team (START) service is in place which provides a treatment and recovery service to anyone aged 16 years and over by offering a variety of specialist treatment and support services for those with chaotic or problematic alcohol and drug use. For more information and to access the service please see links below:

If you have any additional questions, please telephone START on 01292 559800 or Email: aa.clinicaladdictionsservices-southaryshire@aapct.scot.nhs.uk

How to Access Residential Rehab in South Ayrshire

The Roads Out of Recovery Alcohol and Drug Support (ROADS) Team will support you to consider, prepare for and access long term Residential Rehabilitation in Scotland, and will also provide you with continued support when you return to the community. The team will support you to ensure long term residential rehabilitation is the right choice for you, and to consider areas such as housing and benefits. The ROADS Team can also offer support to families, carers and children of individuals who are going to long term residential rehabilitation. Click here for full information and how to refer.

Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards in South Ayrshire

The following NHS Ayrshire & Arran South Ayrshire Treatment and Recovery Team (START) Medication access clinics are available within South Ayrshire:

Girvan Community Hospital: Monday 10.30am-1pm
North Ayr Health Centre, Ayr: Tuesday 10.30am-1pm
Boswell House, Ayr: Wednesday 10.30am-1pm
Tams Brig Surgery, Ayr: Thursday 1.30-4pm
Milan Suite Ailsa Hospital: Friday 10am-11.30

Near-fatal overdose community support

A pathway is in place throughout Ayrshire and Arran to identify and follow up all individuals at high risk of severe drug related harm, including death. This pathway provides support options available to individuals within the community following a near-fatal overdose.

Click here to view our new near-fatal overdose leaflet. The purpose of this leaflet is for the Scottish Ambulance Service technicians to issue to any individual that they are called out to attend in the community, who are considered to have experienced a near-fatal overdose. This leaflet allows the individual and any family members or carers to know what to expect in terms of a response from the Alcohol and Drug Liaison team or Alcohol and Drug Community Services, in the event that they or their loved one is involved with a near-fatal overdose in the community.

Ward 5 (Local residential support facility), Woodland View, Ayrshire Central Hospital

Ward 5 is a residential unit, which provides a specialist service for residents of Ayrshire and Arran over the age of 16, who have an alcohol and/or drug problem and mental health issues. The ward has 10 beds for residential care (five for rehabilitation and five for detoxification) with an additional eight day care places available.

Ward 5 provides a flexible service based on the needs of each individual person. The main treatment is through one-to-one support and group work, with each workshop designed to support each person on their road to recovery.

Treatments available consist of:

a detoxification programme (usually up to one week);
a residential four-week programme;
assessment of mental health and wellbeing; and
a structured day attendance programme.

How can you get into Ward 5?

For residents of North, South and East Ayrshire, access and referrals to Ward 5 is through Community Alcohol and Drug Services within the locality area. For further information and to access the service please see the links below.

Information on Ward 5 (click on the link for an information leaflet).
Information on getting to Ward 5- Woodland View map

If you have any additional questions please contact Ward 5, Woodland View: 01294 322377

Prevention and Service Support Team (PSST)

Improving knowledge of addictions through education and training.

The Prevention and Service Support Team (PSST) work within NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s Alcohol and Drug Services, offering quality training to hundreds of participants each year. The team’s main objective is to provide a wide range of education and training initiatives focusing on raising awareness, competence and knowledge on alcohol and drug-related topics.

The team offer a range of courses through an addictions training calendar which provides structured planned courses throughout the year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the team introduced virtual training, which will continue to be offered as well as face to face training. In addition, the PSST offer bespoke training packages on request, designed around the needs or an organisation or group.

The team is also responsible for the co-ordination of service development activity across NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s Alcohol and Drug Services. This involves local and national reporting of activity, benchmarking and identification of best practice and agreed standards of care, risk management, clinical and non-clinical audit and review and support to service development initiatives across Alcohol and Drug Services.

The PSST provide support, co-ordination and facilitation for a range of campaigns and initiatives which support national and local action plans. More information about the work streams we are involved in is available by clicking on our page link here.