Debate contribution: Addiction and Drug-related Deaths

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 23 April 2024.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

23 April 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Addiction and Drug-related Deaths

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4485577

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank my colleague Órlaithí Flynn for bringing this important motion to the Floor of the House. I know, as others have said, how committed Órlaithí has been in this area: the support that she has provided for families has been steadfast, and that was reflected in her remarks. I thank the Minister for his remarks. It is uplifting to hear that we are all on the same page and that we all know what we want to do. I would not have expected otherwise. We understand the financial picture and that things are challenging: however, that does not mean that we do nothing. It is important to note that this is not just about money; it is about looking at what we can do with what we have. There are definitely things that can be done, which I will get into later in my remarks. As others have said, very few families and very few of us in the Chamber have not been touched by the devastation that addiction causes, whether it is drugs, alcohol or, as my colleague Philip McGuigan mentioned, gambling. It devastates families; there is no doubt about that. It can be a very lonely place for anyone who is affected, not least for the individual but for those around them who are trying to do their best to support them while also dealing with the undoubted stigma and shame that is linked to their circumstances. It is a very difficult situation for anybody who wants to do the best for their loved one but is also very conscious of how others view their family and the family member concerned and the connotations around that. More often than not, they are left with no place to go. That is not to take away from some of the really good work that we know is happening. In my constituency, we have Cuan Mhuire, and I cannot speak highly enough of the Cuan Mhuire facility and the work that happens there. However, it is inundated and is often well over capacity, as are many existing services. They need support, and they need us to deliver on that support. Everyone has outlined personal and harrowing stories that they know from their constituents or their families, friends or neighbours. Just yesterday, I attended an excellent conference hosted by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, in partnership with the Patient and Carer Education Partnership, at Queen's University. That looked at showcasing the impact of proper partnership working in education or training, as we train future nurses, midwives and health professionals, and in service delivery. One of the most powerful contributions at the conference came from a lady who described her experience of having a loved one with an addiction. However, it was not about her addiction. That young girl, whose issues started when she was around 15 years old, had mental health problems that manifested themselves in an addiction. I have no doubt that, for every example that was given in the Chamber today, that is how it started. Whether it is based on abuse or a trauma, generally it comes from mental health. That is where the problem lies, because, when they have an addiction and go for help, that support is not available. That is something that we hear. The lady gave a personal account of her experience. Her younger sister, who is, sadly, now deceased — she died when she was 28 — fought for 13 years to get help. When she was at crisis point and tried to take her own life, those who should have been there to step in and provide that support — because it was a mental health issue — on a technicality, walked away. Sadly, we are talking about that in the past tense now because that young girl never got the support that she really needed. That is a story that is far too common. We all heard that today. There is that constant ping-pong between services, whether it is mental health, addiction or, indeed, the judicial service. To give you an example of that, I want to speak about a family in my constituency; a family that is close to me. They had a son who had everything. He had a family; he had a good job; he had beautiful children. He had everything going for him, but his mental health deteriorated, and, sadly, he turned to drink and, eventually, to drugs to try to cope with that, because he did not have the support that he needed at that time. He lost everything. He lost his family, he lost his home and he lost his job, and, at that stage, he was probably in the worst place he could have been. His family came to me for help, because they did not know what to do — he was a grown man, an adult — and it was a difficult situation. He then got engaged with the judicial system because of the impacts of everything that was going on in his life. The shocking thing for me in that case was that his family felt relief when he was taken into custody. I do not know how anybody can look at that as a solution, but, for them, that was when they knew that he was safe. They knew that he was not taking drugs or drink; he was not going to come to harm. He would go in and out over a short period — in for maybe two weeks or six weeks, whatever it was, and then he was just put out again, and we were back into that cycle. Sadly, it is another case where he then passed away due to his health. He was not looking after himself. The trauma and long-term impact on his whole family circle has been immense. We tried and tried and tried, but that joined-up approach simply is not there. That is where we need to focus in the interim. We understand that a lot of this costs money, but we need people to be working together here and to stop hiding behind red tape, because that is where we are at. If somebody tells me that they are depressed so they drink, that is different from them being depressed because they drink. That is when people services do not get involved. We need to start applying some logic to how we deal with these things. How many more people have to die before we start to realise that the system is kicking them out, and it is just too difficult to access? We have all said — I am not going to point out anybody in particular because everyone said it — that addiction is not a choice; it is an illness, and we have to treat it like that. We have to treat it as though we were going to hospital with a broken leg, pneumonia or one of those things that requires immediate treatment. We also need to listen to those who have been through the system and that experience and take on board where they were failed and what we need to do to change it. Cara Hunter mentioned that we are in a post-conflict society. Absolutely, and we probably have a higher prevalence of drug, alcohol and mental health issues for that reason, and that has led to social deprivation being one of the key drivers for people having those issues. We cannot ignore that. That is why we have to take a whole-system approach, but that will require proper early intervention and investment. We have to look holistically at all that, and a dual-diagnosis approach is key. It is really positive that, for once, we are all in agreement on a very important issue. Others said, and the Member for West Belfast pointed out, that things have got worse and that there are issues with money and all those things. I hope that we can address all that, and we absolutely want to, but the reality is that we are completely underfunded. I look forward to the Minister making representation on the matter to the British Government so that we get can the money that we need, because they are failing our people. We will support the motion and the amendment. I hope that we can start to move forward on these things. We cannot allow more people to die in the meantime.

1,409 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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