The Island's treatment of addicts has been slammed as "woefully lacking" and "on the verge of collapse" in an independent report leaked to The Royal Gazette.

Prepared by a US consultant with 25 years experience in drug treatment, the report goes on to say that "people who are addicted to alcohol, drugs or both are receiving questionable care".

The 14-page document was prepared by Robert Lehmann in November at the request of drug treatment programme fundraiser the Council Partners Charitable Trust (CPCT), specifically to advice on the trust's future direction.

The report says the current, overly politicised system was benefiting no-one and recommended the CPCT should consider severing its ties with the National Drug Commission (NDC).

It comes on the heels of two, equally critical reports prepared by consultants Dr. Jacqueline Butler and Dr. Alan Ogborn which cited similar concerns.

The $5 million dispensed between CPCT and NDC for drug treatment is not well managed, the Lehmann report states - and patients suffer as a direct result.

"The Island, with just over 60,000 in population, should find that the $5 million is more than adequate to provide a comprehensive system of care," the report says.

"As a matter of fact, organisations in the United States would be beside themselves to have this level of funding. $5 million could fund and treat thousands of individuals as well as funding a comprehensive prevention programme."

But rather, Bermuda's system is "woefully lacking" and no one seems willing to admit it, Mr. Lehmann said.

"The system of alcohol/drug abuse care in Bermuda is not a system at all and no one should say it is, because to do so would be an insult," the report states.

"What system exists is a system on the verge of collapse. As a result I am convinced that people who are addicted to alcohol, drugs or both are receiving questionable care."

Mr. Lehmann suggested that if CPCT does not repair or sever its troubled partnership with NDC, private funding for drug treatment could begin to dry up.

"I am concerned that if collaboration is pursued with the NDC and is an unproductive as previous collaborations have been, the CPCT will lose the momentum on the Board of Directors and the donor base will erode," the report says.

Of more than 20 problems cited by Mr. Lehmann in the document, six highlight failures of accountability:for funds, services, quality of service, development, output measurement and statistical data.

He also noted "increased politicising of the NDC based on the party in power", along with a lack of a strategic plan and that, when asked, not one CPCT board member said they would put a loved one into local treatment.

"If that is the case, as it clearly is, it points to a lack of trust in the existing system," the report says.

"The system should be of a quality so as to treat anyone from Bermuda. At present this is clearly not the case.

"What will begin to make the system healthy is for a bi-partisan group to come forward publicly and declare that this cannot be allowed to continue.

This group should be made up of two or three Board of Directors from the NDC who agree that the system is in disarray, membership from the CPCT board and staff, influential citizens and recovering consumers.

"I am not advocating for continued rhetoric but rather true activism. The message needs to be that as citizens you have allowed the continuation of this alcohol and drug prevention to go on in chaos and total ineffectiveness for too long."

The report also suggests that the NDC board should be made temporarily inactive and possibly replaced by CPCT board members.

"The history of the NDC and its board does not instil confidence that it can develop and lead the efforts at a true system of care," the report says.

Mr. Lehmann suggested a task force of individuals without political ties, led by an foreign specialist was the only realistic solution.

"If the Government of Bermuda is not willing to temporarily make the NDC and its board inactive, than at a minimum, it should hire key leadership from outside the country to direct the NDC and its key components."

And he made a number of recommendations for rescuing the embattled system.

Key is the development of the Bermuda Assessment and Referral Centre (BARC) as a true referral centre - independent of the drug court - he said.

He added that very individual referred to a NDC/CPCT funded agency should pass through BARC first or be sanctioned.

And Bermuda must offer a comprehensive array of treatment services including detox, residential treatment, intensive outpatient programmes of varying lengths, aftercare, family education, methadone maintenance, support therapies and group homes.

While suggesting a cure was possible, Mr. Lehmann targeted Government specifically as a hurdle in his conclusion.

"Unfortunately, government knows no better than to politicise organisations it controls especially when personalities in government are involved," he wrote.

"What makes this more difficult is the control the party that leads the House of (Parliament) has over government agencies."

The CPCT board, which provides millions in privately-donated funding for drug treatment each year, met last week in an attempt to decide how to move forward on the stinging observations.

CPCT executive director Gordon Johnson told The Royal Gazette that a meeting took place last Wednesday and a follow-up is planned for tomorrow, but it was still too early to make any statements about what course the trust will follow.