KEY TAKEAWAYS
Rehab for free can be accessed via charities and local authority placements.
Check with a GP for potential referral to the local community addiction team.
Free Addiction Rehab Options
Waiting List
The most common questions are, "What if the free rehab centres are all booked up?" “Is there a long queue? “or, "Can I have immediate access?"
Typical wait times for patients accepted by the NHS are 18 months or longer, in order to gain access to treatment.
What Is Your Role?
Your role is to be responsible.
Following referral to NHS local community addiction team, stick to the plan. Adhere to schedules set out and attend all meetings requested.
This means, meetings with keyworkers, keeping a drinks diary, and documenting your motivation to become sober or clean and get well.
You have to take full responsibility for yourself all through the treatment programme.
Following referral, you have to get in touch with a local healthcare team for an initial assessment.
At keywork sessions, you will be given tasks to complete and records to keep.
There is less treatment continuity in the community care setting than paid rehab, so the responsibility is yours.
There is no treatment provider who can help you achieve sobriety without your own efforts and willingness to get better.
Admitting that addiction is an issue, and that you are willing and ready for help, is the first stage.
What Services Are Available?
It's not enough to break the addiction and withdraw from the substance.
You need to resolve the physical addiction.
Public sector programmes have a safe and supportive environment where patients advocate for themselves and where staff members and the alcohol team prioritise patient safety and recovery over profit.
Services available depend upon which centres a local authority has partnered with, to provide treatment.
Rehab centres themselves do not have decision making capacity over which patients are presented for treatment through public sector funding - this is determined by the referring healthcare provider.
Residential services mean living in a group environment for swifter recovery.
Addiction counsellors provide recovery-focused programmes, such as vocational services and recovery meetings, and group therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
Free NHS Outpatient Services For Rehab
NHS centres are funded by taxpayers, and offer outpatient rehabilitation services to those who cannot afford the price of private treatment options if it is not covered by your health insurance provider.
They will then devise a free treatment rehab programme that is personalised to the needs of the individual, e.g. local support groups that meet regularly and talk about addiction. These are usually short-term programmes that last about 12 weeks.
You can also go to the NHS outpatient clinic, which is a programme that replaces the old outpatient clinics.
There are also day hospitals like outpatient clinics but are more monitored.
Unfortunately, NHS services aren't intensive and specific enough to attain all the treatment needs of an alcoholic.
Moreover, most of the free programmes offered, are for reporting daily from 9 am to 5 pm.
And since NHS focuses on improvements and not complete recovery, most people end up not fully recovered; hence possibilities of relapse are high.
Alternatives To Free NHS Free Rehab
An example of a free drug rehab centre is Alcoholics Anonymous.
AA and mutual aid groups do not charge members but instead operates on the donations of members.
Meetings are available online for those who cannot attend in person.
Community-Based Services
There are community addiction resources available: [1]
- Alcoholics Anonymous (the pioneer of the famous 12 step programme)
- Narcotics Anonymous
- Heroin Anonymous
- Cocaine Anonymous
- Gambler's Anonymous
- Alateen (Al-Anon for teenagers).
- We Are With You (formerly Addaction)
- Al-Anon Samaritans.
- DAN (in Wales)
If you are a concerned/affected family member or friend:
- National Association for Children Of Alcoholics (NACOA)
- FRANK
- Scottish Families affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD)
If you have any queries about alcohol addiction or substance abuse, the following support and treatment services will offer help:
- Drinkchat
- Drinkline
- ADAM
- MIND (for mental health)
Addiction Charities
Several addiction treatment charities provide some treatment options as an alternative to private clinics.
Some have a residential treatment programme. These services are available at no cost.
Such charities are funded by donations, or governmental, or lottery funding.
Naturally funds are limited, meaning places are in demand, e.g.
- The Addiction Recovery Foundation Ltd
- Diversityincare Ltd
- Hillingdon Action Group for Addiction Management (HAGAM)
- Alcohol concern
- CAN- Drugs, Alcohol, and Homelessness.
