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News & Events
June 2010:
Castle Craig Reunion Sunday 20th June.
Patients and their families and friends of Castle Craig are invited to join us in our 22nd annual reunion. Patients attending will be from each generation of treatment, and from every walk of life.
We hope the reunion will give our current patient population the encouragement and inspiration as they start their journey into recovery and a new way of life.
Time table (times are approximate)
10:30 Families and guests arrive
11:30 Peter and Dr. Margaret McCann will welcome the guests and outline developments at Castle Craig over the year and projections for the coming year.
Guest speakers: Martin van der Schagt
12:30 – 12:50 Therapeutic Drumming demonstration
12:30 – 14:00 Buffet Lunch/Barbeque
14:00 – 16:00 Gordon Hogg will chair the afternoon session.
Three ex-patients and a family member will give a brief account of their recovery since leaving treatment.
An Introduction of our final Recovery Guest Speaker Ian Young who will share his experience strength and hope
16:00 – 16:30 Afternoon tea and guests and families to depart
16:30 – 18:00 Current Patients and their family members may continue their visit until 18:00 / 6:00 p.m
ISO Quality Standard Re-Certified
Castle Craig has been re-certified with the ISO 9001:2008 accreditation for quality assurance (issued on June 3rd 2010).
The audit summary states, "The hospital has demonstrated a serious commitment to continual improvement in the delivery of its quality policy and objectives with ample evidence of compliance to ISO 9001:2008 Quality Standard. Improvements continue, as ever in this organisation, to be levelled directly at the patients and the patients' interests, including their well being and their safety while they reside at the hospital during treatment. Commitment by the management of the hospital is exemplary in providing the resources to deliver these objectives.”
Castle Craig Chairman Peter McCann responded, "We were first registered for ISO accreditation in 1995 and have always strived to lead the way when it comes to quality assurance. I think that this report reflects that."
This news follows on from an inspection by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care in 2009 which awarded Castle Craig a rating of "5-Very Good" for all aspects of quality management. The inspectors assessed our Quality of Information; Quality of Care and Support; Quality of Environment; Quality of Staffing and our Quality of Management and Leadership. The award of these scores put Castle Craig in the top 10% of Care Commission regulated bodies.
Castle Craig's Medical Director, Dr. Margaret Ann McCann commented, "I am delighted by this news, and Castle Craig will continue to ensure that the highest standards of Quality Assurance are being met through our Clinic Governance Review Meetings.".
May 2010
UKESAD Conference
Castle Craig was again a major sponsor of the UKESAD conference (UK/European Symposium on Addictive Disorders), which has been an annual event in London for the last seven years and is the UK's largest addiction recovery event.
Hosted by the Addiction Recovery Foundation, UKESAD provides a valuable opportunity to meet people working in all areas of the addiction field and to hear of the latest and most innovative developments for addiction treatment.
Peter McCann was asked to deliver a talk on hyperbaric oxygen treatment at the final plenary which was received with considerable interest. Head Therapist Gordon Hogg and Therapist Roseanne Boyle ably managed the stand and Francis Beek represented the Dutch office.
The Minister for Community Safety (Scotland) Visits Castle Craig
On the 10th of May Castle Craig was visited by the Minister for Community Safety, Fergus Ewing, its third ministerial visit since opening. Mr Ewing was accompanied by Dr Roy Robertson and three civil servants.
They spent the morning touring Castle Craig, meeting and talking with staff and participating in an in-depth discussion with patients from the Extended Care Unit.The patients were able to talk to the Minister about the benefits they had received from their time in treatment and to explain the difficulties they had experienced in being admitted to Castle Craig on the NHS.There was also an opportunity for the Minister to explore the treatment programme and the Minnesota Model method of treatment with Castle Craig’s Chairman and Medical Director, as well as listen to practical problems regarding admissions from the NHS.The Minister expressed a great interest in hyperbaric oxygen treatment as well as the other therapies offered at Castle Craig.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Conference, Moscow
Castle Craig Chairman, Peter McCann, reports following a conference in Moscow.
I recently attended a 3 day international conference on the subject of hyperbaric oxygen in Moscow, which was mostly made up of East European and Russian delegates, as well as one American and one Western European (myself). Thanks to my excellent translator I was able to follow proceedings and abstracts on selected topics are in the process of being translated and will eventually be posted on the website of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Trust. The Russians now have considerable experience over many years of using HBO for a variety of indications that are not accepted in the west, and I consider that it is remiss of authorities to neglect important and effective treatment. In particular I was able to discuss the use of HBO in detox for alcohol and drug cases - with six practitioners who have had considerable experience in this area, and we will be following up on this in the weeks to come.
Art in the Therapeutic Environment, A New Approach
December 2009
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
The snow has been falling thick and fast at Castle Craig since Christmas eve transforming the grounds into a winter wonderland. Although the wintry conditions have proved to be a challenge in getting staff and supplies to Castle Craig we still managed to receive a very special guest on Christmas eve - Santa Claus with 'Rudolf' and the elves. Christmas day was celebrated with a traditional Christmas lunch and a pantomime performed by staff and ECU patients. We wish all our patients, staff and all friends of Castle Craig a very merry and peaceful Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.
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August 2009
Latest Newsletter Released!
Click here to read the latest edition of Castle Craig Hospital's Extended Care Summer Newsletter.
Read about the latest therapies and activities available to those continuing their recovery at Castle Craig's Extended Care facility:
- Art Therapy - helping our patients discover hidden talents
- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy - pioneering new treatments for addictive disease
- Group Therapy for Trauma - for patients suffering from trauma as well as alcohol or drug problems
- The ECU Band - first gig a success!
- Yoga and Country Walks - our fitness and lifestyle revolution for those with alcohol and drug addiction
June 2009
Castle Craig Reunion 2009
On Sunday 14th June current and former patients and their families and members of staff at Castle Craig gathered to celebrate the 21st annual reunion.
The event was opened by Castle Craig Chairman, Peter McCann, who began by welcoming all present and thanking the dedicated team of staff for their hard work over the year. He went on to give a detailed update on all the news and events taking place at Castle Craig over the previous year.
Click here to read Peter McCann’s speech
Guest speaker Dierdre Boyd, CEO of the Addiction Recovery Foundation and Editor of Addiction Today magazine, gave an inspirational speech on abstinence-based recovery and spoke of the work she has undertaken in lobbying for improved access to residential treatment and, in particular, to those focusing on the 12-Step Treatment model.
Deidre Boyd, who is also a member of the Prison and Addictions Forum, drew attention to the failure of the UK’s current drug policy. Whilst the UK has the worst drug problem in Europe the provision of a comprehensive range of services is manifestly absent.
In fact she pointed out that over the last 10 years the Government’s Harm Reduction Strategy has been directed towards reducing drug related crime and therefore the cost of problem drug use.
To this end the Government has widely promoted a policy of “containment” achieved by the widespread prescribing of methadone. In the last five years alone spending on methadone maintenance prescribing has trebled. The goal of “getting people into treatment” is ostensibly laudable, but what the public, patients and families are not told is that all too often treatment ends with the long haul of methadone maintenance patients remaining on methadone for years. She pointed out that problem drug users are anonymised as “PDUs” and that a person on methadone maintenance is now considered to be “in recovery”. While patient choice is promoted by the government in actual fact addicts seeking abstinence are not able to realise this goal. Intensive residential and abstinence based services are simply not offered or available as part of the package of care.
Recovery is possible. Drug addiction can be intercepted and abstinence can be achieved but this usually requires access to residential rehabilitation for as we know many years of drug use leave their detrimental effects on the physical, psychological and social health of the individual.
Of the 200,000 PDUs claimed to be “in recovery” only 0.2% have had residential treatment. Deidre quoted extensively from Kathy Gyngell recently published book ‘The Phoney War on Drugs’ (Kathy Gyngell is Chair of the Prison and Addictions Forum).
As this author has argued Sweden and the Netherlands have in fact far more effective drug policies and better provision for residential care.
Castle Craig fully endorses both these dedicated proponents in their efforts to raise the profile of the need for better treatment support aimed not only at abstinence but also residential rehabilitation.
After the barbeque lunch and a drumming session led by Phil Grant and the ECU drummers, the afternoon session kicked off, introduced by Head Therapist Gordon Hogg and principle speaker Annemarie Ward. Annemarie has played a very important role in lobbying for more services in the Scottish addiction field and updates a regular blog on “Wired In“, an online resource for those interested in addiction and recovery. She has just announced plans for a Recovery March in Edinburgh to celebrate and raise awareness of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction and to give recovery a united voice. We keenly await further news of future developments!
After some inspirational “shares” from among the friends of Castle Craig the day drew to a close with afternoon tea, an opportunity to network and meet old friends, a chance to relax and walk in the grounds.
February 2009
The University of Edinburgh and Castle Craig Hospital Launch Pilot Study For Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in the Treatment of Alcoholic Liver Disease
A pilot study to treat alcoholic liver disease with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is being launched by Castle Craig Hospital and the Department of Hepatology at The University of Edinburgh, after obtaining Ethical Committee approval.
The Phase I study aims to show whether bone marrow stem cells are mobilised into the bloodstream following HBOT, in patients who recently drank alcohol to excess1, with or without chronic liver disease. The trial will also examine whether there is an improvement in liver function following HBOT.
Participants will have two blood samples drawn a week apart prior to starting HBOT. They will have a total of 20 sessions of two hours of hyperbaric oxygen at 1.75 to 2 ATM with blood drawn after 10 and 20 sessions and again one week later.
HBOT has been shown to cause mobilisation of bone marrow stem cells into the blood stream in healthy volunteers and patients who have received radio therapy for cancer.2 There are several reports of patients with chronic liver disease experiencing an improvement in liver functioning after infusion of their own bone marrow stem cells.3 Unfortunately, current methods of obtaining bone marrow stem cells for infusion are imperfect and can be painful and unpleasant with the risk of complications.
Currently the only "curative" treatment for cirrhosis of the liver is transplantation but due to donor shortages and the implications of taking life long anti-rejection drugs, this is not available to the majority of patients. There is also considerable controversy regarding providing "alcoholic" patients with liver transplants.
Professor Peter Hayes, Chief Investigator of the trial and Professor of Hepatology at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary remarked: "Most ways of increasing stem cells are very complicated. The beauty of this approach is its simplicity. We have to do the study first before getting carried away."
Peter McCann, Chairman of Castle Craig Hospital said: "We are committed to helping patients, not only with their addictive disease, but also with their inevitable medical complications, and we hope that hyperbaric oxygenation will assist in this respect."
Safety:
The type III Hyperbaric Chamber, operated at Castle Craig Hospital, was deregulated by an Act of Parliament in 2008 since perceived risks due to fire, oxygen toxicity and infection control proved to be groundless in these units.4 The participating staff at Castle Craig Hospital are fully trained in managing the hyperbaric chamber and all precautions are taken.
About Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
HBOT involves breathing pure oxygen to higher than atmospheric pressures in an enclosed chamber. Frequently used for divers with the "bends", it has many other indications both official and experimental or "off label".
Castle Craig's purpose-built 18 seat chamber is operated by trained staff and is equipped with television to provide patients with educational therapeutic lectures while in the chamber. When fully operational this chamber is cost effective and the course of treatment need cost no more than £300 for ten sessions, with the potential to save hundreds of times this amount using conventional health care.
Other trials:
FDA approved trials are also taking place in the USA researching the effects of HBOT in AIDS/HIV, trauma/post traumatic stress disorder, autism, cerebral palsy and stroke cases.5
References:
1. Above 50 units a week, within 3 weeks of the start of the trial.
2. Stephen R. Thom, Veena M. Bhopole, Omalda C. Velazquez, Lee J. Goldstein, Lynne H. Thom, Donald G. Buerk. Stem mobilisation by hyperbaric oxygen. AMJ Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 240: HI 378 - HI 386 2006.
3. Professor Stuart J Forbes. Stem cell therapy for chronic liver disease-choosing the right tools for the job. Gut, Feb 2008;57:153-155. Sourced online at: www.natap.org/2008/HCV/011408_01.htm
4. Private and voluntary healthcare: Care Standards Act 2000. Regulations and national minimum standards consultation document. March/June 2008. Product no. 280611. Gateway no 8565. Sourced online at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_083519
5. Sourced online at: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=hyperbaric
View the published news online at:
The Times, Hyperbaric Chamber May Hold Key to Reparing Damaged Livers http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article5793347.ece
BBC Online, Liver Disease 'Bends' Cure Hope http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7899390.stm
