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This paper reviews the work of the national dual diagnosis programme established in England in response to recommendations for improvements in the way that services treat people with mental health problems and substance misuse issues. National policy drivers are explained, as well as the aims and achievements of the programme to date.

Developing capable practitioners who offer high quality care can bring significant improvement to dual diagnosis services. But developing such practitioners presents many challenges. This paper offers some practical solutions to this problem and proposes that the wider dissemination of existing skills and resources could effect substantial change.

The Dual Diagnosis National Programme at the Department of Health (England) commissioned an awareness‐raising e‐learning resource. The resource was developed by consultant nurses and other experts in PROGRESS and the Centre for Enhancement in Learning Innovation at Coventry University. This brief paper outlines the process of development and the initial feedback by users.

Organic solderability preservative (OSP) coatings are not new. They have been used successfully with aggressive water soluble flux for assembly of through‐hole only PWBs. However, the multiple heating cycles required for mixed technology assembly and use of no‐clean low solids flux (LSF) for wave solder assembly have placed a greater demand on the solderability protection provided by OSPs. Wetting balance and float testing were used to evaluate numerous OSPs as well as the potential for these surface finishes to be used for ‘No‐Clean’ assembly. Although these laboratory evaluations revealed that OSPs are not as robust as SnPb, they did indicate the assembly processes and materials which could work with OSPs. Additional simulated assembly trials with test vehicles confirmed that thick OSP pre‐flux coatings interfere with soldering and that the solderability of surfaces with thin OSPs degrades when heated in an air environment. Since none of the OSPs evaluated outperformed the imidazole currently in use at AT&T, a no‐clean LSF assembly production trial with a mixed technology telecommunication circuit pack was conducted to compare imidazole with hot air solder levelled surfaces. The production trial and laboratory evaluations resulted in the development of an application model. The elements of the application model are not complicated: (1) use thin OSPs, (2) avoid baking, (3) use as aggressive a flux as possible, (4) apply as much flux as possible, (5) apply the flux where you want solder to wet, and (6) use nitrogen inerted processes whenever possible. Combination of these elements has led to the successful implementation of OSPs for no‐clean assembly. Funding for this effort was obtained through the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) Printed Wiring Board Interconnect Program.

Assertive outreach teams are working with a significant proportion of people with complex needs, including dual diagnosis. Government policy has highlighted the role of assertive outreach in engaging and intervening with this group. This paper reports on the development and evaluation of a specific team‐focused training package and its trial in the Eastern and West Midlands regions.