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SDF Webinars

SDF hosts free webinars that cover a variety of themes which aim to support those delivering services to people who use drugs.

Pre-registration is required for the webinars and numbers are limited so be sure to register early.

The webinars are hosted on GoToWebinar, so please check your have the capability to access the tool once registered.

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If you have any comments or ideas for future webinars please get in touch.

Upcoming Webinars

Update Event

National Implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards for Scotland

Friday 11th June 2021 / 13.00 – 14.30
online via GoToWebinar

The Scottish Government has announced that national implementation of Scotland’s new Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards will be fully embedded by 2022. This event will describe progress on the implementation of the MAT Standards so far and the next steps. There will be presentations on how local service planners and services are ensuring Standard-compliant provision with respect to Standards 1 – 5, in a mix of rural and urban settings across Scotland. This will be followed by a Question and Answer Session.

The MAT standards are a key part of the response to Scotland’s drug-related deaths public health emergency and the key means to change service provision and transform people’s lives.

This free event will feature presentations from:

  • Angela Constance, Scottish Government Minister for Drug Policy
  • Dr Trina Ritchie, Glasgow Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services
  • Lynne Drysdale, Edinburgh Access Practice
  • Dave Taylor, Aberdeenshire Drug & Alcohol Services
  • Jen Opara, Craigmillar Medical Group
  • Tracey Clusker, Clinical Leader MAT Standards
  • Becky Wood, Lead for community engagement
  • Dr Duncan McCormick, Public Health Scotland

The event will be chaired by Duncan McCormick, Public Health Scotland and Chair of the MAT Subgroup of the Drug Deaths Task Force.

This event is being hosted by Scottish Drugs Forum, The MAT Subgroup of the Drug Deaths Task Force and Public Health Scotland.

You can reserve your place at the event by registering here.

Due to Scottish Government COVID-19 restrictions, the launch event will be held online via GoToWebinar.

Early booking is advised.

 

 

Developing Heroin Assisted Treatment in Scotland – learning from current practice 

Tuesday 22nd June 2021 
16:00 – 17:30 

The Scottish Government has made its intentions clear regarding the provision of Heroin Assisted Treatment across Scotland. This will add another important intervention in our response to the on-going public health emergency which is Scotland’s drug related deaths crisis.

There is strong evidence internationally across decades that Heroin Assisted Treatment can impact positively on reducing harms and drug related deaths and this webinar aims to stimulant further developments in Scotland.

This webinar will hear from existing providers of Heroin Assisted Treatment in Canada and the UK and provide guidance on the steps required to deliver further programmes in Scotland.

This event will feature presentations from:

  • Angela Constance, Minister for Drug Policy, Scottish Government
  • Scott McDonald, Physician Lead, Providence Crosstown Clinic, Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Eugenia Oviedo-Joekes, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia
  • Carole Hunter, Pharmacy lead, Glasgow HAT Service
  • Saket Priyadarshi, Medical lead, Glasgow HAT Service
  • Danny Ahmed, Clinical lead, Middlesbrough HAT Service

The presentations will be followed by a question and answer session.

This event is hosted by Scottish Drugs Forum and will be chaired by Dave Liddell, CEO, Scottish Drugs Forum.

You can register for the event by clicking here.

 

Stakeholder Engagement Event on responding to Benzodiazepine Dependence in Scotland within MAT

Friday 25th June 2021 / 13.00 – 14.30
Free event – online via GoToWebinar

Scotland is facing significant challenges due to the problematic use of benzodiazepines, often in combination with other drugs. Recent changes in the type and range of street benzodiazepines; local pill manufacture leading to increased supply and reduced prices are driving overdose deaths.  In 2019, street benzodiazepines, in combination with other substances, most often opioids, were implicated in 64% of the 1264 drug-related deaths in Scotland.

In the context of increasing benzodiazepine-related mortality, the lack of robust clinical guidance, and emerging but inequitably distributed clinical experience, there is a need to develop a Scottish response to address the harms associated with benzodiazepine use.

The new Scottish Government’s Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards aim to drive access, choice and evidence-based support in drug treatment and care.  There is a pressing need to adopt this approach in relation to benzodiazepines.  This webinar will introduce actions from the Drug Deaths Taskforce’s Benzodiazepine Working Group to develop a national treatment guideline and reach consensus on person-centred approaches to the management of benzodiazepine use and related harms.

This event will feature presentations from:

  • Andrew McAuley, Senior Epidemiologist, NHS Public Health Scotland and Senior Research Fellow, Glasgow Caledonian University
  • Joe Schofield, Research Fellow, University of Stirling
  • Claire Campbell, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Aberdeenshire Integrated Drug and Alcohol Service (AIDAS) and Clinical Psychologist in Dundee Drug and alcohol recovery service, NHS Tayside
  • Isabel Traynor, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Head of NHS Fife Addictions Psychological Therapies Service (APTS), Chair of Lead Psychologists in Addiction Services in Scotland (LPASS)
  • Trina Ritchie, Lead Clinician and Senior Medical Officer, Glasgow Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services

This event is hosted by Scottish Drugs Forum and the Benzodiazepine Working Group of the Drug Deaths Taskforce and will be chaired by Dave Liddell, CEO, Scottish Drugs Forum

You can reserve your place at the event by registering here.

Previous Webinars

SDF have hosted over 25 webinars on a variety of topics and themes such as Sexual Health and Blood-Borne Viruses, benzodiazepines, harm reduction, and service provision. All SDF Webinars are recorded and posted on the SDF YouTube Channel after the event.

COVID-19 Webinars

As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, SDF  has hosted a series of webinars that address crucial aspects of the support of people with drug problems and the delivery of effective services that provide treatment and support, reduce harm and protect people from COVID-19.

You can view previous SDF COVID-19 webinars on the SDF Youtube Channel, or you can click on one of the topics below.