NHS Norfolk in 500,000 pounds alcohol misuse pilot schemes

NHS Norfolk has ear-marked over half a million pounds to tackle alcohol misuse within the county, and in particular to reduce the number of people who go to hospital due to alcohol use.

The funding is initially going to be used to carry out a series of pilots which will be evaluated for their effectiveness before we move forward to official implementation. These will include:
Alcohol interventions within a hospital environment
A place of safety in the night time economy in Kings Lynn
Triage in the night-time economy: The ability to undertake a medical assessment and offer first aid, inclusive of basic stitching, at point of contact has nationally been shown to reduce unnecessary admissions into Accident & Emergency.

Such services will also provide an immediate opportunity to offer harm minimisation advice to individuals who may otherwise not perceive their drinking to be problematic. Collating statistics on where injuries are occurring will allow for better data flow between Healthcare professionals and the police thereby allowing the constabulary to target key areas of the night-time economy.

Two pilots will be undertaken, one being to offer clinical prescribing to accompany existing brief interventions programmes for individuals currently on probation. The service will be targeted at those who's drinking is classed as dependent and is directly related to their offending.

It is hoped that offering prescribing for alcohol related problems as well as assisted alcohol detoxification will complement the counselling available and improve the health of the individual as well as reduce their offending behaviour.

The second pilot will be offered in partnership with Norfolk Probation and will look at offering a structured alcohol programme run over 14 sessions for offenders who's drinking is classed as harmful and are at risk of re-offending. The outcomes are envisaged to be similar to above aiming to improve the health of the individual concerned and reduce their offending behaviour.

Children and family work. This pilot will be developed in 2009 with the intended outcome being that of ensuring individuals are able to make informed decisions regarding their alcohol consumption, both individually and as a family; with acknowledgement of the impact of those decisions on the family dynamic.

In addition to this an assessment of older peoples and their needs will be carried out to identify alcohol usage amongst the over 65s.

There is significant anecdotal evidence to suggest that alcohol dependency amongst the older population in Norfolk is increasing. A needs assessment to identify numbers and profiles of those using substances together with an evaluation of current available provision is necessary to ensure services are commissioned appropriately.

Article published on 16/08/2008