Hospitals ‘fail to tackle drinking problems’
Hospitals are not testing patients for dangerous levels of drinking, a charity said.
The poll, by Action on Addiction, found only four of 191 accident and emergency departments in England’s hospitals were carrying out formal assessments. And only 24 A&E departments were asking even general questions about alcohol consumption.
This is despite research showing up to 40 per cent of people attending A&E departments would benefit from help or advice about their drinking, according to the charity.
The survey also found only one in 10 A&E departments in the North were inquiring about alcohol consumption, despite a poll in 2004 which identified the region as having the largest proportion of hazardous and harmful drinkers.
Health psychologist Bob Patton, who conducted the charity’s study, called on hospitals to adopt a more formal testing regime.
He said: “We know that just asking patients a few simple questions about their drinking can help more people be made aware of their alcohol consumption and hopefully reduce this.”
He added: “Overall, the change in the 24-hour Licensing Act has led to greater availability of alcohol and we would expect that to be associated with an increase in alcohol-related health harm, but the long-term consequences of increased consumption will take a while to emerge.”
Lesley King-Lewis, joint chief executive of Action on Addiction, said formal tests could relieve some of the “immense pressure” on NHS staff in A&E departments.
He said: “By taking the time to formally test patients in this way, we may actually prevent re-attendance.”
The charity recommends A&E departments consider using formal methods of identifying hazardous drinking, such as the single alcohol screening question or the Paddington alcohol test. The tests, which ask people to consider what or how much they drink, are simple and easy to implement, according to the charity. Share this article: «www.dailymail.co.uk»
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