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McGuire, Vivion (2008) MQI annual review 2007. Drugnet Ireland, Issue 28, Winter 2008, p. 22.

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The Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) annual review for 2007 was launched by Minister of State with responsibility for drugs strategy Mr John Curran TD on 12 September 2008.1

 MQI’s needle-exchange service recorded that the number of client visits in 2007 remained steady at just under 40,000; however 1,333 of those visits were by new clients. The report also highlights a continuing high level of demand for homeless services, with an 11% increase in the number of meals provided for homeless people and a 33% increase in the numbers seeking help from MQI’s primary health care services
 
The review describes the national prison-based addiction counselling service introduced in 2007 and run by MQI in partnership with the Irish Prison Service. The service offers structured assessments and evidence-based counselling interventions with clearly defined treatment plans and goals. This occurs in the context of care planning within multidisciplinary teams. By December of 2007 MQI was providing 400 counselling hours per month within the prisons. When fully operational, the service will provide 1,000 counselling hours per month in 13 prisons nationally.
 
The types of service offered by MQI and the numbers of people accessing them in 2007 are shown below.
 
Service
Type of intervention
No. of participants
Outcomes
Needle-exchange and health-promotion services
Promoting safer injecting techniques
HIV and hepatitis prevention
Safe sex advice
Information on overdose
Not available
(1,333 new clients)
606 safer injecting workshops
 
Not available
Stabilisation services
Methadone substitution
Supportive day programmes
Gateway programme
Counselling
30
17
48 (monthly average)
Not available
Not available
Not available
Not available
Not available
 
Settlement service
Assist service users to access interim and long-term accommodation
52 (monthly average)
36 people were successfully settled
 
Integration programmes
Access to transitional accommodation (Ballymount House) for up to 24 weeks
Group and one-to-one therapeutic sessions
15
Not available
Training and work programmes
FÁS Community Employment scheme
 
130
45% secured permanent employment or moved to further education
Catering training programme
Not available
 
Not available
 
High Park
17-week, drug-free residential programme including individual counselling, group therapy, educational groups, work assignments and recreational activities
52 (of whom 20 were admitted for detoxification)
16 completed detox
St Francis Farm
Therapeutic facility offering a 6–12-month programme
54
17 completed three months or more
 
 
1. Merchants Quay Ireland (2008) Annual review 2007. Dublin: MQI
Item Type
Article
Publication Type
Irish-related, Open Access, Article
Drug Type
All substances
Intervention Type
Harm reduction
Issue Title
Issue 28, Winter 2008
Date
2008
Page Range
p. 22
Publisher
Health Research Board
Volume
Issue 28, Winter 2008
EndNote
Accession Number
HRB (Available)

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