AOD Service Improvement and Policy Advice by 360Edge

Find your edge Review and Evaluation Workforce Development Program Design Tender Writing

Find your edge

Leading practices for (r)evolutionary results

Service and workforce improvement can be challenging. On the frontline dealing with alcohol, other drugs and mental health issues, you need practical solutions that work in the real world.

Our cutting-edge practices connect evidence based practice with practice based knowledge. As accelerated change experts, we combine more than 25 years of academic research with hands-on clinical experience to develop (r)evolutionary evidence-based practices that actually work. We work with organisations that want to be the best.

Our processes make it straight-forward to understand, implement and sustain practice change. Understanding constraints facing organisations, we distill the data, cut through the jargon, then work full circle with you to engage your workforce to implement effective strategies for service improvement.

A 360 integrated approach

As Australia’s leading specialist alcohol and other drug consultancy, we provide a full suite of advisory services to help health service organisations accelerate change.

By focusing on the process as well as the outcome, you get smooth implementation of the outcomes you need. We collaboratively and holistically work with you at every stage, wherever you are in the cycle of change. Full circle is how we work.

Our team of experienced pracademics take a 360 approach to reviewing situations from multiple perspectives.

We show you exactly what you need to do in a way that works.

We know how to make it work in the real world.

Review and Evaluation

We all want the best results for our clients, but it can be hard to keep up with new research and sometimes programs drift off course.

Whether it’s a program, a service or a whole service system that needs review, our tailored reflective methodology ensures that we capture all the right information to understand what’s working well and what’s not.

We look at how the service environment impacts on workflow, productivity and client outcomes so your team is freed up to give their best.

We follow up with post review support including professional development, manager development and support and clinical supervision.

When you implement our practical recommendations, your program has the best possible outcomes, with sustainability.

Our service review and program evaluation support includes:

Strategic meeting with senior leadership group and/or board
External and internal stakeholder consultation and engagement, including consumers
Benchmarking through review of the literature and of other programs
Review of documentation
Data collection, management and analysis
Implementation planning
Reporting

Evaluation of Torque

Evaluation of Torque – a Catalyst non-residential rehabilitation program for people involved in the justice system.

UnitingCare ReGen (ReGen) adapted its Catalyst alcohol community rehabilitation program, an evidence based non-residential program to cater for a forensic client group. The new approach to this service model is ‘Torque – a Catalyst non-residential rehabilitation program for people involved in the justice system’.

Torque provides up to 12 treatment places in an intensive, non-residential 6-week program for people with problematic alcohol and/or other drug use issues who are involved in the criminal justice system. It involves intensive group work and individual counselling for people with problematic substance use who have completed withdrawal.

360Edge (then ‘LeeJenn’) undertook a literature review, examined inputs, outputs, processes and outcomes, focusing on key enablers for program inception and completion, participant and staff views and experiences.

Evaluation of Torque and its delivery of services over a 20-month period has shown that the Torque program has successfully adapted the Catalyst model, and is providing an effective, community-based AOD intervention for substance users involved with the justice system. We found significant decreases in drug use and offending, improvements in quality of life, decreases in mental health symptoms.

They Understand Clinical Research is Messy

UnitingCare ReGen is committed to evidence-based clinical service provision. To this end we constantly ask how can we do better? What does the scientific literature tell us? What works in a clinical setting? What are the views of consumers of our services? We have chosen 360Edge to assist us to answer these questions on a regular basis. Nicole and the 360Edge team not only have strong academic backgrounds but, importantly, they also have the clinical expertise to know that clinical research can be a little messy at times! It is this skill and understanding combined with professionalism and patience that has really impressed us.

Laurence Alvis, CEO UnitingCare ReGen

Some of our key projects

Current evaluation projects

Therapeutic Day Rehabilitation evaluation – A comprehensive 2-year review of 11 therapeutic day rehabilitation programs in Victoria funded under the Ice Action Plan.

Evaluation of WeCAN smoking cessation program in ACT – An evaluation of an innovative program to support clients of alcohol, tobacco and other drug services and alcohol and other drug workers to quit smoking.

Recently completed evaluation projects

ACT withdrawal services review (ACT Health) – A full service system review of withdrawal services and gaps in the ACT

Evaluation of prison alcohol and other drug programs and services (Justice Health and Corrections Victoria) – A wide ranging review of prison alcohol and drug programs across Victoria

Evaluation of the Aboriginal Metropolitan Ice Partnerships Pilot (Victorian Department of Health and Human Services) – Evaluation of an innovative multisite program in the Victorian alcohol and other drugs sector linking up mainstream alcohol and other drug workers with Aboriginal Health workers to improve outcomes for Aboriginal; people and their families affected by ice.

Describing the alcohol and drug sector discussion paper (ATODA) – A comprehensive paper describing the key parts of the alcohol and drug system in Australia

Screening for substance use and related issues discussion paper (ATODA) – A comprehensive paper on leading practices in screening for specialist alcohol, tobacco and other drug services.

Workforce Development

Workforce development is more than training.

It is an holistic approach that synthesises workforce analysis and planning, human resource management and capacity development. The result is a workforce that is seamlessly aligned to current and future service demands.

Our workforce development approach goes beyond education and training to a whole system approach to building the capacity and sustainability of your workforce.

We take a birds eye view of your workforce to make sure you have the right people in the right jobs providing the best services for your clients.

We offer a 360 suite of workforce development services including:

Professional development workshops
Professional supervision
Training needs analysis
Workforce policy development

Practitioner Capacity

Professional development workshops

Our trainers are the key to effective learning. Not only are we great facilitators, we also have also have decades of real experience in mental health and alcohol and other drug practice, so you know the clinical training you get is update and practical.

We know how to teach and what to teach to take clinical delivery to the next level and see better outcomes for your clients.

We provide enough theory for a solid understanding of the ‘why’ but with a practical focus on the ‘how’.

Download our latest training flyer

Professional supervision

Good clinical supervision is hard to find. Supervision for developing managers is even harder. Benefit from experienced, quality support for accelerating careers and developing strong, leading-edge practices.

With our extensive experience in we offer clinical supervision for all level of practitioner from any disciplines and clinical management support.

We use a self discovery-self reflection approach to supervision so deep learning occurs that directly translates to changes in practice.

Service Capacity

Training needs analysis

Wondering whether your team has the right skills for the job?

We look at your services, benchmark the skills required and advise where you team needs additional training, supervision or further qualifications.

The right people with the right skills in the right positions means more effective outcomes, and less risk of burnout in your team.

Workforce policy

Workforce policy development is broad and complex.

It identifies workforce supply and demand for the long and short term, through business analysis, job design, recruitment, retention, resource identification, support structures, and capacity development.

An effective workforce policy is integrated into the organisation’s strategic plan, and provides a framework for staffing decisions to support your organisation’s vision and goals.

Improved Confidence and Standard of Care

Drug Health WSLHD was looking for a training package to ensure our clinician’s knowledge and skills in working with methamphetamine users was up-to-date and evidence based. We needed a package that could target clinicians from different disciplines and at different levels of experience. 360Edge offered the training we needed and were very flexible in coordinating and planning, meaning it took minimal effort to organise. The training on the day ran very smoothly and was concise, completely practical, relevant to clinicians on the frontline, and was presented very well. Staff feedback told us fairly quickly that confidence in working in this area had increased, and that staff were surprised at how useful they found the training. Overall the training has helped us guide the development of new treatment programs, and to improve our standard of care with methamphetamine users.

Logan Harvey, Centre for Addiction Medicine (Mt Druitt), Western Sydney Local Area Health District

Program Design

A treatment program is more than just group discussion or a manual full of activities.

What stays out is as important as what goes in, and designing an engaging and an effective learning experience for participants is the difference between so-so and great outcomes.

Whether it’s a program for individual treatment, groups or day or residential rehabilitation, 360Edge clinicians know what it takes to engage participants to learn new skills and apply them to the real world.

We use everyday ideas and tools in an innovative way that participants just get. From music to theatre to arts and crafts, we ensure that participants are so interested they cannot help but learn the skills they need to help their recovery.

As part of our program design process we:

Undertake consultation with stakeholders
Develop program content
Design timetables and schedules
Develop program manuals and resources
Design routine program evaluation

Toora Women Inc Alcohol and other drug day program

Toora Women Inc. is a not-for-profit organisation supporting women with complex issues associated with past or present trauma. After a full service review, Toora Women Inc wanted to revitalise their day program and bring it up to latest best practice.

The 360Edge team of clinical specialists developed a program framework with an 8 week timetable, incorporating new and existing programs, such as case coordination. We developed innovative content on a range of topics that are important for women’s health including healthy body image, communication skills, and nourishing relationships, managing moods, exploring family influences, parenting, and other skills for living a full and meaningful life without alcohol and other drugs.

Tender Writing

A good bid in a competitive and ever-changing funding environment is more important than ever. But most organisations don’t have the time or skill set to write a great tender.

We have a 90% success rate in both gaining funding for our clients, and our own submissions for consultancy services.

We know what you need to say to make a convincing argument, when to back that up with real data and how to communicate your ideas effectively.

Our full tender writing service includes:

Strategic planning and ideas generation
Stakeholder consultation and engagement
Program development
Benchmarking and literature review
Data analysis
Writing, editing and formatting of tender documents

Service improvement