Published Nov 24 2003 in the local paper "Smålandstidningen"

Staff lacks academic education

The community of Nässjö do not want a Narconon establishment at Lättarp farm outside Forserum. Staff in the management lacks academic education in treatment of drugaddicts. Thats one reason. The other is the lack of routines in securing the quality of caregiving.

This writes the handling officer of the individual - and familycareoffice at the local authorities of socialwellfare in her statement to the regional office of federal authorities ( Länsstyrelsen). the statement is still a civil servant proposal that the communityboard of social wellfare will consider at their meeting tomorrow tuesday.

It is a five pages long statement about Narconon activities now left to the politicians to make a decision. In the statement you can read that staff at managementlevels as well as regarding the rest of the staff, lacks any kind of academic education , relevant to the target group the treatment is aimed at.

There is no one in staff with professional experience from treatment of drugaddicts , Narconons own treatment excluded. According to the proposal from the National Committy on Social Wellfare (SOU 1994:139 , State Public Investigation document) A New Law of Wellfare , it is clear that proper academic education is required.

Breakedowns

Inger Jansson judges it doubtful that Narconon has the necessary prerequisites to offer any treatment that guarantees clients necessary quality and rehabilitation outcome. "The evaluation of their activities that Narconon referres to , the so called Gerdmanreport, shows that there is a signifiqant drop out from the treatment" she writes. It is the trained social worker Peter Gerdman that in 1981described an evaluation of Narconon. According to this evaluation, nervouse breakdowns amongst the clients was common during the treatment.

Inger Jansson concludes that it concerns a vulerable group of individuals with an extensive need of care from 18 years of age and older. " It must be a basic demand that quality and security is clearly formulated and followed up with both controls of routines and methods that can be analyzed.

Lacking in expert knowledges

Inger Jansson states that Narconon has failed in showing expert knowledge in staff to manage the activity in a goal-oriented way." The applicant has not been able to produce evidence of knowledge in the field of a systematic quality- and development work and how such activities is planned to be pursued in a satisfactory way."

It is the Narconon association of Huddinge that is the applicant that wants to start a new treatmentcentre at the Lättarp farm for 40 clients. Of these, five are ocnsidered to be outpatients, that is to say, drufaddicts attending treatment at daytime but living outside the centre.

Thomas Pettersson is named as manager and Gunnar Liljegren vicemanager. Owner of the centre are Håkan Larsson and Mia Persson, the latter is also nemed as an external consultant to Narconon.