Alliances and partnerships

The Devon Food Partnership is a county-wide network working to improve access to healthy, sustainable and locally produced food for everyone in Devon.

On the website you can find:

• information for those experiencing or working in, household food insecurity. This includes resources, events for VCSE organisations and examples of good practice
• resources on food in schools to support healthy eating and food education for children
• research in food systems to better understand and support our knowledge of what works
• events for businesses to attend to support financial, economic and social sustainability
• our monthly newsletter, which you can sign up to here, to find out what’s going on in Devon’s food system and to learn about funding opportunities and events

The Partnership facilitates three working groups that are open to all to attend and we are keen to support any food related enquiries, projects and make connections where we can. Please email us at info@devonfoodpartnership.com if you have any questions.

The Smokefree Devon Alliance is a partnership of organisations committed to reducing the prevalence of smoking in Devon.

Our vision is to create a smoke-free generation in Devon where people are protected from the harms caused by tobacco.

Alcohol and illegal substances shape the health and wellbeing of our communities in profound ways; from the places we live and work to the opportunities we have to thrive.

Reducing alcohol and drug-related harm means more than changing individual behaviours. It requires us to build supportive environments together, strengthen social connections and ensure equitable access to care and support for everyone. In short, reducing alcohol and drugs harm is everybody’s business.

While many see the drinking of alcohol as a key social activity and it is very much normalised within our culture, alcohol consumption continues to be one of the leading causes of preventable ill health, disability, and premature death in the UK.

Drug-related harms in the UK have wide-ranging impacts, affecting not only individuals through increased risks of physical illness, mental health problems, and premature death, but also placing significant strain on families and communities. These harms can contribute to crime, social instability, and long-term inequalities.

Most notably, the harm caused by alcohol and drugs is unequally felt with those already disadvantaged within society impacted most.

The Devon Drug and Alcohol Strategic Partnership (DDASP) was formed in November 2022 following publication of the national 10 year dugs strategy and action plan From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives.

The partnership covers the Devon County Council footprint and aims to deliver the ambition of the National Drug Strategy locally including:

• Increase numbers of people in treatment.
• Reduce alcohol and drug related deaths.
• Improve continuity of care for people engaged in the criminal justice system.
• Reduce the supply and demand for illicit substances.

The partnership is chaired by Steve Brown, the Director of Public Health (Devon County Council) and has representation from a number of key partners including drug and alcohol treatment services, Devon and Cornwall Police, Devon health partners, National Probation Service South West, HM Prison Service, and voluntary and community sector partners.

If you would like further information about the partnership, or would like to be involved please contact publichealth-mailbox@devon.gov.uk.

For anyone who lives within the Devon County Council boundary who has concerns about their or a loved one’s use of alcohol or other drugs, advice, guidance and signposting to support is available at Local support for adults with drug and alcohol problems.

Annual reports

• DDASP Annual Report 2023/24

Dashboards

• DDASP outcomes framework dashboard
• APHR 2024-25 on alcohol

Health needs assessments

• DDASP Joint Health Needs Assessment 2022

Partnership publications

• DDASP Widening Access to Naloxone Partnership Strategy
• Breaking Barriers: Access to Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Support Services in Rural Devon
• The Devon Drug and Alcohol Strategic Partnership Delivery Plan
• The Devon Drug and Alcohol Strategic Partnership Communication Strategy 2025-28

Devon Local Drug Information System (LDIS)

The Local Drug Information System, coordinated by Public Health Devon, is a process that assesses and responds to drug information provided by the public and partner organisations on new, potent, or contaminated drugs in Devon.

It collates the reports which are then verified and a response followed such as issuing drug alerts and harm reduction messages to partner organisations working with at risk groups.

The purpose of the LDIS is to prevent or reduce harm to people of all ages (including young people) who use, or are at risk of using, illicit or illegal drugs.

Submitting a report

To report information to the Devon LDIS please use the local drug information reporting form.

If you are not able to access the form please call 01392 383000.

Please provide as much detail as possible. The form does not ask for any personal information about individuals who may have taken or sold substances. Please note that Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council have their own reporting systems.

Criteria for submitting reports

Please use the LDIS form to report any intelligence you have relating to:

• substances causing acute medical, social or emotional harm, or death, particularly new or novel substances
• substances where people report uncommon side effects not normally associated with the substance
• substances that appear to have a spike in purity or strength of their active ingredient/s
• substances that appear to be branded in such a way so as to mislead the user as to the ingredients
• contaminated substances or substances adulterated with dangerous agents
• an emerging trend of mixing substances or ingesting them in a way that is particularly hazardous to health

The LDIS form is not to be used in an emergency and is not linked to any emergency service.

• If you (or someone with you) has any problems after taking any drugs, it’s important to get help FAST. Call 999 or go straight to A&E.
• Don’t hesitate to get help and be honest with any first responders about what you’ve taken.
• Where possible have Naloxone to hand and ensure you receive training on the use of naloxone from the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service Together, call 0800 233 5444.
• For support or advice about accessing treatment please contact Together drug and alcohol service on 0800 233 5444.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Prevention Group – Devon Integrated Care Board Footprint

CVD refers to diseases affecting the heart or blood vessels. It includes coronary heart disease (blocked arteries or heart failure) and stroke.

The CVD Prevention Plan has been developed through this group which is made up of members from across the Devon Integrated Care System.

Objectives from this plan have been included in the Devon Join Forward Plan which sets out targets for health and wellbeing across our population.

The principles of the CVD prevention plan include:

• Co-production – involving all stakeholders with an interest in heart health.
• Holistic – seeing and treating the individual as a whole and within their family and community.
• Place-based – the important activities will take place at local level and in communities where people are.
• Compassionate – listening to, understanding and supporting people to access the help, support and information they need to improve their heart health.
• Preventative – taking every opportunity to promote heart health across all ages and stages of life, promoting healthy activities as much as pills and procedures.

The CVD Prevention Plan workstreams include:

• Leadership, coordination and implementation: This describes plans to develop a shared vision and outcomes, and how the activities in the sections below will be implemented.
• Data analysis: This describes how we plan to use data and intelligence to identify population groups who will be targeted for prevention and intervention, and how we will monitor progress.
• Primary prevention: This describes plans to support people to keep themselves healthy and prevent heart disease before they have symptoms.
• Identification and case finding: This describes plans to identify people at greater risk of heart disease who will benefit from early treatment.
• Secondary prevention: This describes plans to help people with heart disease to improve their health and prevent their symptoms from worsening.
• Workforce and training: This describes plans for training and development of the wider workforce who can support the prevention and early detection of heart disease.
• Communications and engagement: This describes plans for listening to and communicating with stakeholders and residents across the Integrated Care System to promote the messages around heart health and explain what we are doing.

If you would like further information about the CVD Prevention Group or would like to be involved please contact publichealth-mailbox@devon.gov.uk.

CVD data dashboard

The Devon ICS CVD data dashboard presents an overview and understanding of cardiovascular disease across Devon.

The aim is to provide context and intelligence to help inform decision-making, interventions and health promotion activities to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for the population of Devon.

Safer Devon is a partnership of organisations who work together to address harms and improve safety for our communities.

Our work includes focus on domestic abuse, sexual violence and gender-based violence (in Devon, we call this interpersonal and gender-based violence and abuse), serious violence, and radicalisation.

If you’re a member of the public, learn more about our work on the Safer Devon website.

If you’re a professional, you can learn more about:

• Safer Devon’s partnership work
• our work to address domestic abuse, sexual, violence and gender-based violence on the domestic and sexual violence and abuse website

If you are concerned about radicalisation, view our information about reporting radicalisation concerns.

The Devon Schools Wellbeing Partnership is a universal health and wellbeing resource for all schools in Devon.