Website of the Department of Health

1. Press copies of the statistical press release Statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System in England, 2001/02 are available from: the Department of Health Press Office. Tel: 020 7210 5221.

2. Information on people presenting to services with problem drug misuse for the six months ending 30 September 2000 and for the six months ending 31 March 2001 were published in the series Statistics from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases, available from: Department of Health, PO Box 777 London SE1 6XH. Tel: 08701 555455. Fax: 01623 724524.

3. A census was carried out in 2000/01 to estimate the number of drug misusers in treatment in England in 2000/01. A statistical bulletin Statistics from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases on drug misusers in treatment in England, 2000/01 was published in December 2001.

4. The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS), was introduced from 1 April 2001 and collects data on both those drug misusers presenting for treatment and those in treatment. The NDTMS is a key source of information for monitoring the numbers in treatment for the Government's 10-year strategy for tackling drug misuse Tackling Drugs to build a better Britain.

Methodology note

Background

1. Up until 31 March 2001, data on the numbers of people presenting to services with problem drug misuse were collected by the Regional Drug Misuse Databases (RDMDs) in England. However, although services and information needs had changed substantially, the RDMDs changed little since their inception and development in the late 1980s. Following a strategic review of the structure and operation of the RDMDs, the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) was introduced in England and Wales from 1 April 2001. The new system provides additional data and will be more suited to the information needs of the Government's drugs strategy and other stakeholders.

Regional Drug Misuse Databases

2. The RDMD data included selected personal details and information on the drugs misused together with the type of agency attended. These data were collected and published centrally by the Department of Health on a six monthly basis and included drug users presenting for the first time or for the first time for a period of six months or more. A drug user might, therefore, have been counted as an individual in each six monthly data set. The last RDMD statistical bulletin, for the six months ending 31 March 2001, was published in the series'Statistics from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases', available on the internet at

National Drug Treatment Monitoring System

3. The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System, which was introduced from 1 April 2001, collects information on clients presenting for and entering treatment; it also includes whether they are still in treatment at the end of each financial year, starting at 31 March 2002, and information on the treatment received.

4. Data are collected from drug agencies by regional centres; anonymised data are then returned to the Department of Health. The data include individuals presenting for structured treatment (a more focused definition than that used for the Regional Drug Misuse Databases) who present for treatment for the first time, or for the first time in the financial year having gone out of contact with the agency during the previous financial year. For the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System a drug user may only be counted once as an individual in each yearly data set for each regional centre.

Trends in the numbers presenting for treatment

5. As explained above, the figures collected from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System are not directly comparable with information collected previously for the Regional Drug Misuse Databases. An estimate of the trend in new presentations for treatment has been calculated by comparing the following:

a) NDTMS for 2001/02

The provisional number of individual drug users reported to the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System as presenting to drug treatment services during 2001/02 (71,306). The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System data used for the estimate is from the Department of Health interim database; new software is planned for roll out in Spring 2003, which will allow more detailed analysis of data.

b) RDMD for 2000/01

The number of individual drug users presenting for treatment at drug treatment services from the Regional Drug Misuse Database data for two six month periods - the six months ending 30 September 2000 (33,093) and the six months ending 31 March 2001(33,234), a total of 66,327. The estimated increase is about 8%

6. These figures are provisional and may be subject to later revision. Numbers for the trend (8%) are from aggregate data supplied to the Department of Health as at 18 November 2002. The percentages in the tables are based on an analysis of individual records provided to the Department of Health up to 31 October 2002. Reporting to the NDTMS (and previously the RDMDs) is voluntary and trends can be affected by reporting practices. It is planned to publish more detailed information from the NDTMS in due course

7. In the following tables percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. 0 represents less than 0.5.