The recovery agenda coupled with a moving of the alcohol and drug budget to local authority has diminished the amount of money provided to service provision. This has been a national picture, with GP-led shared care being the victim of the financial cuts in this area. This paper argues that this is a policy that really should be challenged, as the NHS is diminishing in the field of addictions and is affecting the quality of services provided. Valuable work will be lost for good, such as flexible and effective alcohol detoxifications that enable patients to achieve abstinence from alcohol. This primary care service is important to patients, and alcohol community detoxifications being lost is an example of what is being sacrificed unless professionals recognise that this policy shift has resulted in an overall poorer service and needs to be challenged. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.