NTA joins Public Health

Written by: Essex Drug & Alcohol Action Team
Posted: 26/07/2010 16:12:34

National Treatment Agency to join Public Health Service

Treatment for addiction to drugs will form a core part of the new Public Health Service, the Government announced today, as the Department of Health publishes plans to move the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse into the new body by April 2012.

The NTA will be abolished as a statutory organisation, and its functions will be transferred to the new Public Health Service, which was announced by the Secretary of State for Health on 7 July 2010.

The NTA was set up in 2001 to improve the availability and capacity of treatment for illegal drug use in England, and its priority now is to focus on the challenge of enabling people to make a full recovery from addiction, addressing the entire range of issues they face in their reintegration back into society.

The NTA will be working with the Department of Health and its partners across government on the plans to transfer functions of the NTA to the Public Health Service.

Paul Hayes, NTA Chief Executive said:

"Tackling addiction to drugs is a high priority for the Government, and from 2012, we will be doing this within a larger organisation focused on public health.

"The NTA will shortly be publishing its business plan for the next year with an ambitious programme for change in the treatment of drug addiction, centered on the challenge of enabling people to make a full recovery from addiction."

-Ends-

Notes to editors

The NTA was set up by Government in 2001 to improve the availability, capacity and effectiveness of treatment for drug misuse in England. Visit the NTA’s website at www.nta.nhs.uk

For further information and media interview requests please contact the NTA press office on 020 7972 1922

Last Updated on: 25/08/2010 12:53:12