Nurses are an integral part of drug and alcohol treatment both in the community and in-patient setting and is a speciality area within the nursing career framework.  Working in drug and alcohol services nurses can provide a range of interventions, including supporting people’s physical health needs.

WithYou Director of nursing Ariella joined Shropshire Council colleagues and partners to celebrate the opening of a new drug and alcohol community facility in Shrewsbury this week.

Ariella Williams joined WithYou as their Director of Nursing back in January 2024, and today, she visited Shropshire Recovery Partnership’s (SRP) new office in Shrewsbury for the first time.

Ariella says: “I was completely blown away by the new clinical rooms - in fact, the only thing that impressed me more was the passion, skill and flexibility of our clinical team.

“The team offers a wide variety of clinical interventions, from supporting people with wound care, to offering non-medical prescribing, community detox and alcohol liaison services. They also provide harm reduction guidance, Hepatitis C testing, and deliver treatment pathways with the local hepatology team. We are incredibly proud to have a newly qualified advanced clinical practitioner who will bring expertise in public health to our clients, and we are progressing a trainee advanced clinical practitioner role across SRP.

“The clinical team at SRP go above and beyond: they innovate and flex to ensure that the needs of local demographics are continuously met. For example, I learnt more about the community interventions that are delivered from the RESET van to support people across the county who are rough sleeping or at risk of rough sleeping. Providing intensive support, the van is able to take services to meet people where they are.

“I was also really impressed with the strong relationship that our teams have with local NHS partners. This helps to support local people during and after their hospital stay, better connecting them to their community and improving access to the services that they need.

“Our clients are at the heart of everything we do at WithYou, and so it was amazing to see people with lived experience supporting clinical interventions by engaging people who are anxious about coming into our services. Alongside our clinical team and partners, they are helping us to make sure that every contact counts.”

Photo, from left to right:

• Anna Webb, Reset HCA 
• Charlotte Lloyd-Davies, Senior NMP 
• Claudine Evetts, Lead Clinical Nurse
• Ariella Williams, Director of Nursing
• Naomi Harley, Nurse 
• Nicki Johnston, ALN 
• Louise Hammersley-Gecan, Alcohol Specialist Recovery Worker 
• Emma Kaye, Pharmacy Technician
• Steve Davies, NMP