Anna posted on February 16, 2012 10:30
Rehab centres in Wales providing treatment for drug and alcohol problems may have to close due to not having enough clients.
Last year, 91 people in Wales were referred to treatment programmes. However, nearly half of these went to recovery programmes in England instead.
Some centres said that some patients were getting immediately referred to treatment in England, and that referrals had dropped in recent years.
Patients were getting sent further away, despite ringfenced funding for residential treatment, due to out of date policies.
Alcohol Concern Cymru, meanwhile, say that 15,300 people in Wales were referred for treatment (not necessarily residential) for alcohol problems in 2010-2011. More than 1000 of these were under the age of 19.
The concern is now that residential treatment centres in Wales will not be able to stay open much longer, and that people needing treatment in the future will not even have the option of a free bed in Wales, as patients do now.
Find out more:
Read the BBC News story, 'Welsh rebab centres "face closure" through lack of clients'.