In September 2024 the government published guidance to help local partnerships to set up and review their processes for drug and alcohol related deaths (DARDs) and near fatal overdoses.
Alcohol Change UK has long argued that meaningful learning from deaths and serious incidents is essential to preventing future harm. We have led and supported multi-agency work on alcohol and drug death reviews for over two decades, helping local systems move beyond counting deaths towards understanding why systems failed and what needs to change.
This work is led by senior consultants with national expertise in alcohol, safeguarding, mental capacity and system failure, including extensive experience of designing, running and reviewing DARD processes, authoring national guidance, and supporting statutory partnerships.