For most, finding the right help for alcohol or drug issues in Caernarfon, is confusing and difficult. Thousands blindly walk into addiction treatment in expensive rehab centres and find that the reality doesn't meet expectations.
We've compiled this need-to-know guide, including questions to ask each clinic *before* you pay - including a printable cheatsheet.
Step 1 - Detox .v. Rehab
Having gone through months (years?) of denial, when we're ready for treatment, it's easy to rush ahead into the first detox provider you call. But, choosing the wrong provider early on, might mean drawing the wrong conclusions about recovery, and what's possible for your future.
Detox-Only, Versus Full Rehabilitation Programme
Whilst most follow the conventional programme of detox, then rehab, then aftercare, it's possible to do only one of these. But is it right for you?
- Unsure if you need detox, rehab, aftercare, or all 3?
Be honest with yourself here, as going the detox-only route initially, when underlying work is truly needed, often ends in paying for treatment twice, not once.
Treatment Near Caernarfon
Understandably, when feeling low and needing detox, most will opt for a clinic close to where they live.
Unless you're extremely unwell, consider anything up to 100 mile radius and focus instead on quality of care.
Detox beds can be found in hospitals, and virtually any clinic. But does their long term support match your needs in the longer term? Just a few minutes work here, can pay off down the line.
Previous/Complex Detoxes
You should know: your progress in treatment can depend heavily on the strength of the clinic staff around you, and the support of your peers.
If you've had detoxes in the past, or complications like liver or other issues, you'll want to be extra careful here.
The medical team at a given clinic have the final say of course, but the admissions team for a provider should be well-versed enough to give you an idea of how your detox will proceed.
Ask around to find a clinic with professionals who have experience in detoxing your substance type specifically, e.g. a high dose methadone detox is complex, and should be undertaken only by professionals with substantial experience.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Can you easily accommodate my detox needs?
- Do you have specialist addiction medics prescribing detox?
- Are there suitable staff in the clinic who are equipped to handle detox complications?
Step 2 - The Rehab Need-To-Knows
Tell me about how treatment works.
For in-patient treatment stays, you'll have your own room in the clinic, where you stay, live and sleep, for anywhere from 7-84 days or more (28 days is the average stay).
Since every individual is different, and needs can vary widely, (even two people consuming the same amount of alcohol or drugs can need very different timescale and treatment) - a personal assessment is usually needed, before admission to a clinic can go ahead.
How Do I Monitor Progress?
If your clinic provides strong personal attention in the programme, they should help you map out what you want from treatment, exactly.
Most providers, at the start of your stay, will help you visualise personal goals and progress targets, in a specifically designed care plan.
Together you'll map out key milestones, while accounting for past addictive patterns and behaviours. It's worth making the effort here.
KEY QUESTIONS
- To what extent is my care and management planned and mapped out?
- How do clinic staff know they're doing a good job at helping clients achieve recovery?
- What input do I have in planning my care?
- How is care planning done?
A Day In The Life
Tell me about the daily routine in treatment?
Asking some key questions before admitting to a clinic can help you get a sense for what life is like in treatment, before committing.
Every day new clients enter treatment and previous ones leave. Although everyone is at different stages of treatment, providers must keep everyone on track. This means preparing and issuing a daily agenda. The agenda lets you know what's happening when, and what activities you should participate in.
The time it takes to feel better at the initial stages of treatment is personal to each individual. Some will be ready to start therapeutic work after just a few days. Others may take 7 days or longer. This is normal.
Call the clinic's admissions team to arrange to look around the inside of the centre before completing any paperwork. This can give you a real feel for how the day to day looks and feels.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Do you have a virtual online tour I can take?
- Can you send me an example of what the daily schedule is like, in the clinic?
- Can I arrange a visit to the clinic, to look around, without obligation, before committing?
- When would I be expected to move from detox into therapy in the clinic?
Does Covid-19 Affect My Rehab Treatment?
Few people successfully make it into long term recovery without the help of the bigger group around them.
Only with the support of others on the journey, can we hope to make a full recovery.
But doing so safely, in the age of Covid-19, means ensuring the clinic you choose has provisions in place to guard against risk of infection.
Step 3 - Managing The Budget For Treatment
Public health services are usually free, but rarely provide detox, or speedy access to treatment. Private providers are more specialist, with a joined up approach, but come at a cost.
There are few half way house providers that exist generally, between public providers, and private treatment, so get clear from the start on which you need.
As you can imagine, the cheapest provider is not always the best.
Working with minimalist care, in a clinic with spartan conditions is not conducive to personal breakthroughs. Instead, look for alternative providers with smaller programmes, headcount, and overheads, to strike the right balance.
Call round a few providers, using our cheatsheet if needed - and get a feel for pricing, and whether they can meet your needs comfortably. Don't commit to anything just yet.
Other Ways To Get Help
Community-Led Support Channels
Even since covid-19, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups are still available, although most have now adopted online platforms to hold meetings, these can still be a rich source of support.
Whilst mutual aid plays a big part for many, later in their recovery journey, those at the start will need professional help to detox safely.
Local mutual aid meetings *can* be a huge help, and can be a source of potential sponsors and sober mentors for the future. But at the early stages, it's important to get safe and comfortable professional help to detox.
Public Healthcare For Addiction
Obtaining short-term detox from NHS services is unlikely, due to demand on resources.
At best, only the most extreme or chronic cases are normally considered for hospital detox or residential clinics.
Aggregating funds together, between friends and family, can be a good approach to securing private treatment instead, where the individual can't finance it themselves.
Step 4 - Read The Reviews
Opinions on different clinics' standards of care are ten a penny on the internet, but how do you know who to trust?
Arm yourself from the outset, with the *only* truly impartial consumer report available for private clinics - the Care Quality Commission (England & Wales) and/or Care Inspectorate (Scotland) inspection reports.
These two regulatory bodies inspect rehab clinics on a regular basis (usually annually) and produce written reports on their findings.
This includes feedback on staffing, care and support levels, management, and environment.
Important - Regulator Inspections
When looking for CQC or Care Inspectorate reports, always look for those stating the visit was "Unannounced" instead of "Announced" - this means the provider was not aware the inspection was occurring, and hence is most likely to provide most insight into genuine standards of care.
Step 5 - Decide On A Provider
At this point, you've got enough info to decide on one of the clinics you've seen.
When you call the admissions team for the clinic you’ve chosen, expect to go through an initial telephone assessment, and pay a deposit towards treatment, as explained above.
A telephone assessment might last up to 30 minutes, after which the provider will likely request you to pay a deposit towards treatment, so that they can progress further with your admission.
Now is also the time to finalise any other arrangements re payment, like paying via insurance policy.
Step 6 - Financing Treatment
As mentioned, an initial deposit payment is usually expected.
The deposit could be anywhere from £500 - £3,000, depending on specifics. Most clinics accept payment over the phone by card.
A few offer payment plans to help spread the cost of rehab, although nowadays this is less common.
An email confirmation of your booking is usually sent to you, confirming the next steps.
The Remaining Funding
Clinics will normally expect payment of the remaining balance of treatment, upon arrival and admission to the clinic, so be prepared to make a payment at this time.
It's a good idea to pay this promptly, to avoid excess charges.
Step 7 - Admission Into Treatment
Now it's time for the practical stuff of admitting. Double check you have a note of your confirmed date and time your due to admit to the clinic.
Pack enough essentials for your treatment duration, like:
It's worth checking usage policies re internet and wifi, and devices, as you may be disappointed if the clinic you've chosen asks you to hand them in, before your stay begins, without prior warning.
Most clinics have a busy schedule and making sure you arrive on time is important. Getting your means of transport to the clinic organised ahead of time, will ensure things are effortless, on the day.
From this point on, your recovery journey has begun!
The Top Questions To Ask
Thank you for reading the ultimate guide to finding the right rehab treatment for Caernarfon.
We’ve compiled the top questions to ask a provider, in one easy to print PDF to have handy when you ring clinics.
Thanks so much for reading our buyer's guide.
Help for addiction is available at Abbeycare's UK clinics.
We've helped thousands overcome their addiction to alcohol or drugs.
In these last 15 years, our experience has gone from strength to strength.
Even if you're not local, we can still help with transport into treatment (full transparency - some costs do apply).
How did we do with inspections from regulators? Check our reports, available on our clinic pages, here: Abbeycare Scotland, and Abbeycare Hygrove.
Our admissions team will help you navigate the treatment options.
Detox is available, with comfort and safety, with the help of our medical team.
The Abbeycare therapy team are specialists in helping you identify and work through the underlying triggers behind addiction.
Our clinic team are ready to help you make the progress you need.
Are you ready for recovery?
To ask a question, or to arrange admission, ring our team now on 01603 513 091.
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