The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse has improved their online residential rehabilitation database by including the ability to search for live bed vacancies in England and Wales. BEDVACS will search over 100 rehabilitation providers for vacancies according to facilities and location. Whenever a bed becomes empty, the provider updates the database over a simple web-based form. The vacancy then immediately appears on the site. Paul Hayes, Chief Executive of the NTA, says: “The new system will support care managers and members of the public in finding the details they need at the click of a button. We hope that this increased access to information will help to reduce waiting times, and increase the number of people accessing the treatment programme they need at a time when they are able to fully commit to it." The service was designed by Bettercaring, the private care company which also created and maintained the NTA’s searchable residential directory. The directory features detailed information about residential rehabilitation bed vacancies and can be searched by a number of categories. It is used by 18 local authorities, including Birmingham and Suffolk. BEDVACS and the NTA’s online searchable directory can both be accessed from www.nta.nhs.uk/residentialdirectory. A free print version of the directory, intended to be used where internet access is not readily available, can be ordered from the same website.
