The rise and fall of the Community Drug Team: the gap between aspiration and achievement

The introduction of Community Drug Teams (CDTs) in many parts of the UK was one of the major organizational changes to UK drug treatment services through the 1980s and 1990s. For the first time, instead of investing in specialist treatment units significant resources were targeted at the development of community-based services. Following the appointment of staff for the first CDT in 1983, there was a rapid expansion in the number of CDTs throughout the 1980s. By 1987, there were already 62 CDTs and by 1990 the number had grown to 75 (MacGregor et al. 1991). By 1991, a CDT had been established within more than half the 192 District Health Authorities in the country.