Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centres in Northern Ireland

Drug and alcohol rehab in Northern Ireland runs through Health and Social Care, known as HSC, the public health and care system that plays the role the NHS plays elsewhere in the UK. The public route starts with a phone call to the drug and alcohol support number for the area where a person lives.

Outpatient care is listed at nearly all of the rehabs in Northern Ireland, and medication-assisted treatment at some. Publicly funded treatment appears at nearly all of them, and foundation-funded care, paid for by charitable funds, at some.

The region’s listings, grouped under Newtownards, rest on government treatment registers, regulators’ licensing records, accreditor listings and details sent in by providers. Private outpatient care in Northern Ireland has an estimated typical range of £1,200 to £4,000 a month, for people who choose to pay rather than use HSC services.

How does public addiction treatment work in Northern Ireland?

Public addiction treatment in Northern Ireland is run by the Health and Social Care trusts, which provide statutory drug and alcohol services in each part of the region. A person starts by phoning the support number for their area, and the line explains local options, including the trust’s community addiction services, for adults in Northern Ireland.

Publicly funded outpatient care is listed at most of the rehabs in Northern Ireland, and public HSC cover is accepted at most of them. Both statutory and non-statutory services report the people who come to them to the Department of Health’s substance misuse database, so treatment demand is recorded regionally.

Which area number should I call in Northern Ireland?

Adults in Northern Ireland call the support number for the area they live in, according to Northern Ireland’s official drug and alcohol information site. Belfast and Castlereagh share one number, the Northern area has its own, the South Eastern and Southern areas share a third, and the Western area has a freephone line.

Is there separate help for young people in Northern Ireland?

Yes. Young people aged 11 and over in Northern Ireland have their own drug and alcohol support numbers, published by area alongside the adult lines. A parent or a young person can call the young people’s number for the area and hear about local services, separately from adult treatment in Northern Ireland.

In Belfast and Castlereagh, for example, the young people’s line is 028 9043 5815.

How does residential care work in Northern Ireland?

Residential addiction care in Northern Ireland is organized in two parts of tier 4: hospital-based inpatient detox, known as tier 4a, and community-based residential rehabilitation, known as tier 4b. HSC trusts fund residential places under contracts with providers, and the trust’s community team follows people up after they leave.

A funded residential place therefore usually starts with the trust’s community addiction team, which can explain how a referral works and what follow-up comes after discharge.

Can someone be made to have addiction treatment in Northern Ireland?

No, not for addiction alone. Article 3(2) of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order says dependence on alcohol or drugs is not by itself a mental disorder for compulsory measures, so drug and alcohol treatment in Northern Ireland is voluntary. A separate mental disorder can still lead to detention under that law.

Treatment records in Northern Ireland are health data, a special category under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, which adds legal protection to them.

Treatment options in Northern Ireland

Treatment options in Northern Ireland lean toward community care: outpatient programs are listed at nearly all rehabs in the region, medication-assisted treatment at some, and treatment for a co-occurring mental health condition at some. Opioid use and alcohol use are each a focus at some services.

Mental health treatment is listed at nearly all of the rehabs in Northern Ireland, so support for mood and anxiety usually forms part of the plan.

Is methadone or buprenorphine available in Northern Ireland?

Yes. People in Northern Ireland who depend on heroin or another opioid can be offered a substitute medicine such as methadone or buprenorphine through their local drug treatment service. Both medicines are listed at some of the region’s rehabs, and publicly funded medication-assisted treatment appears at some as well.

Suboxone is listed at some services too, and the prescriber reviews the dose as treatment goes on.

What is take-home naloxone, and who supplies it in Northern Ireland?

Take-home naloxone is an emergency medicine that reverses an opioid overdose, and drug treatment services in Northern Ireland can supply it without a prescription. Pharmacists, registered nurses, paramedics and police are among the other groups permitted to hand it out, and the local service decides whether a kit is free.

Families of someone using opioids can ask the local addiction team about a kit and how to use it.

How is mental health treated alongside addiction in Northern Ireland?

Mental health and addiction are often treated together in Northern Ireland: dual diagnosis care for men and for women is listed at some of the region’s rehabs, and depression and anxiety treatment at some. Publicly funded dual diagnosis care and publicly funded mental health treatment each appear at some services as well.

Psychosocial rehabilitation, which helps people rebuild routines, work and relationships, is listed at some Northern Ireland services.

Is there support for families in Northern Ireland?

Yes. Family education is listed at some of the rehabs in Northern Ireland, helping relatives understand addiction, treatment and how to support recovery at home. Families can also call the area support number on behalf of someone they are worried about and learn which local services can help.

Mutual aid adds to this, with Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in Northern Ireland listed by the fellowship’s Irish service and Narcotics Anonymous UK meetings across the region.

Private rehab in Northern Ireland

Private rehab in Northern Ireland is regulated by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority, or RQIA, the independent body that registers and inspects health and social care services in the region. Private outpatient care has an estimated typical range of £1,200 to £4,000 a month, and RQIA’s public register shows which services it regulates.

UK private medical insurance can include addiction treatment where the policy level allows it, but conditions that existed before the policy began are usually excluded, so the insurer’s answer is worth getting in writing.

Who regulates private rehab in Northern Ireland?

RQIA, Northern Ireland’s health and social care regulator, keeps the register of services in the region, including independent clinics, and inspects them. A private program in Northern Ireland can point to its entry on that register, and published inspection reports show what inspectors found before anyone commits to a stay.

Regulation is devolved across the UK, so rehab in England, Scotland and Wales follows each nation’s own regulator.

Can visitors come to Northern Ireland for rehab?

Yes. Private medical treatment is a permitted activity for visitors under the UK Immigration Rules, so people from abroad can be treated privately in Northern Ireland. A standard visit usually allows up to six months, and the medical visitor route can allow up to 11 months for a longer, pre-arranged course.

The medical route needs treatment arranged before travel and a UK doctor’s letter giving the condition, the cost, a finite duration and the place of care. Visitors may carry up to three months’ supply of prescribed controlled medicines in hand luggage with a prescriber’s letter. Rehab is also listed in Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Malta.

In a crisis, Lifeline, Northern Ireland’s crisis response helpline, answers 24 hours a day on 0808 808 8000. FRANK, the UK’s national drugs helpline, is on 0300 123 6600 at any hour, and 999 is the emergency number.

Rehab across the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe is listed on the regional pages.